


Any Way The Wind Blows

by Snurtlicious



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Makoto is a captain but a weenie, Nagisa is a deckhand, Nitori is an orphan who stows away on rin's pirate ship, Pirate AU, Rei is a ruthless tactician, Slow Build, The Iwatobi boys are part of the navy in the latter chapters, and also gay, assassin!Haru, basically it's about Nitori discovering family, dont forget about the gay lol, kisumi is a devil, sou and momo are basically mom and dad friends, there is so much violence in the later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2015-05-15
Packaged: 2018-02-27 10:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2688761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snurtlicious/pseuds/Snurtlicious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With nothing to lose and thirsting for a glamorous life of adventure, Nitori decides to stow away on the pirate ship that has docked in his hometown. After climbing aboard and being discovered, he is accepted as a member of the crew, but has he made the right decision leaving his hometown behind?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stowaway

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm super excited to finally have gotten to write a freaking Rintori fic. It doesn't really start off that way, but it will happen. Plus I'm planning an entire Soumomo subplot and I'm planning to bring the Iwatobi boys in somewhere. I hope you enjoy it!

The smell of the sea, the sting of the salt, the feel of the waves… they were all things that I wanted to experience firsthand. What sights would I even see out on the ocean? Maybe mermaids flipping their tails at us, or a whale… maybe even dolphins? That thought sent me over the edge and it was all I could do to not just run onto their ship immediately.

A group of pirates had recently stormed into the small port town of Iwatobi, leaving their ship barely guarded. Of course, no one would be foolish enough to try to steal from the pirates, but that wasn’t what I was after. I wanted to join them, the glamorous life of pirates, full of adventure and mystery. I’d read so many stories about them that it was hard to contain my excitement when I’d heard that they’d docked here.

I peeked into the bar where they ate and drank at, but it just looked like a group of guys sitting around and talking. They were probably just tired, I told myself. No one can go, go, go all the time. That was why I decided to wait until the guard wasn’t paying attention and snuck on their ship. It was a great wooden monstrosity that smelled of salt and danger. If I had something to lose, maybe my sense would’ve come back to me before the morning came and the pirates pulled out of harbor, hauling me far away from my home village. Maybe I’d never return back there.

The crate I hid in smelled like rotten fish and tobacco. I wondered vacantly if I’d enjoy smoking. I’d never tried it because I was too poor, but it seemed like a fun and, in no way dangerous, hobby. The hem of my yellowed shirt became smeared with what I could only hope was fish blood and not a number of other liquids that it could’ve been. I just avoided touching the spot and smoothed my silver hair out.

The ship had been moving relatively slowly from what I could feel. Only the quiet creaking of the dark wood let me know that the men were shuffling around. At first it was only a few of them, speaking softly and enjoying the cool morning. However, as I grew even more uncomfortable, and frightened, the rest of the crew roused and soon it was full calamity on the deck.

I… regretted my decision. I didn’t have any family or any real friends back home. It was likely that no one would even notice my absence. That was why I opted to stow away, hoping maybe they’d take pity on a young man and let me join their crew. I sighed deeply and tried not to think about it too hard. They’d accept me or… make me walk the plank? Send me to Davy Jones’ locker? I shuddered at the thought, but shifted around to make the small space at least mildly more comfortable.

Someone was bound to find me eventually, but I’d rather be found than reveal myself. I wanted to seem meek and afraid, in hopes that the captain might pity me. It was the only way I’d gotten, well, anything. Mainly because I was meek and afraid. This was the boldest move I’d ever made and it’d end up in Hell or paradise.

That was what I thought, anyways. It was around mealtime, I guessed. He was a big man, easily a third taller than me. His aquamarine eyes seemed weary, and his dark hair seemed uncharacteristically kempt for a pirate. I wanted to scream, hope he’d not hit me, that they’d turn back to Iwatobi and leave me there.

Instead, an iron grip wrapped itself around my wrist and suddenly pulled me forward, dropping me face first onto the hardwood. I made no move, no sound. I just tasted blood. On the way down, I’d been so surprised that I’d bitten my tongue. The iron taste was probably a harbinger of worse things to come. I was so stupid to think that they’d just accept me. Hopefully my death would be quick and painless.

“Who the hell is this one?” A man called, probably the one that’d grabbed me. Someone padded up quickly and quietly.

“Uh, he doesn’t look familiar to me at all, Sousuke.” A bright, plucky voice replied. I didn’t want to look up. Maybe if I stared at the floor hard enough, it would swallow me up and spit me out in the ocean.

“So he’s a stowaway?” The deeper voice sounded worn, like this was the worst possible thing that he could’ve imagined. “Go tell the captain. I’ll drag him out on deck.” My insides churned.

The louder one’s footsteps receded quickly into the distance. I stayed frozen. Maybe feigning unconsciousness was the best way to do this. I didn’t expect him to lean down and roll me over, so I could only stare straight into his eyes for a moment, trying not to scream, not to cry, not to say a single word.

“Are you going to come quietly or do we have to do this the hard way?” He asked, his tone shifting into an edged tone. I took a shuddery breath and just nodded. I wasn’t even confident in my own voice at the moment. I was afraid that I’d just squeak and burst into tears.

He grabbed my forearm and picked me up. He was dressed conservatively in a long-sleeved yellowy white shirt and tailored brown pants, no torn sleeves, bare chest, no beard, nothing. In fact, he looked to be only a little older than me. The only difference was that he was much larger, much more threatening, probably even more attractive than me.

He walked us over to the door I’d run in the previous evening. Sousuke, I guessed, held my arm fast until we stepped through the jam. His grip loosened a little, and then a strong push at my back sent me flying forwards, chest slamming onto the deck of the ship.

As I suspected, the sun was setting off to the west. I acted like I had before, not moving, not reacting. I wanted to disappear so badly that I wished a siren would sing her song and wreck us into the crags.

I heard another door closing amidst the sound of the waves. Loud bootsteps and shouting approached. There wasn’t anywhere to run, and clearly hiding hadn’t worked out either. I just hoped the captain was nice, as nice as a pirate captain could be. I bet that he was old and wrinkly with a long beard and an eye patch.

“Is this the guy?” It was a different voice than I’d heard before. Sousuke made a grunt that I could only take as meaning yes. “Stand up and let me look at you.” My blood ran cold.

I stayed stone still for a moment and then resigned myself. I put my knees down and slowly lifted myself up, keeping my eyes tightly closed. The click of boots circled around me before pausing where they’d been a moment ago.

“This one’s pretty like a doll, don’t you think?” He and the others laughed a little, sending chills down my spine. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“N-Nitori.” I eked out. I still didn’t open my eyes.

“Huh? What did you say?” Three steps towards me. I could almost smell the old on him.

“Nitori, my name is Aiichirou Nitori.” I repeated, trying to keep my voice steady. I cracked a lid open, seeing the outline of someone. I opened my eyes the rest of the way to realize that I wasn’t talking to an old man at all.

He was probably the same age as Sousuke. He had shoulder length dark red hair, and when he smiled… shark teeth? At least his outfit was a little more of what I’d expected: a red open vest, no undershirt, and tattered grey pants, cut off at the knees.

“Alright, Nitori,” he took another step closer, making the distance between us barely noticeable. I swallowed hard. “Why are you stowed away on my ship then? That’s not very smart of you, you must’ve realized that.”

I looked away again, was my reason even good enough? Would he just laugh and then beat me senseless, or were the rest of my assumptions about the pirates wrong as well? I was expecting ruthless, gruff men, the kind that wouldn’t hesitate to steal or murder… or do other, much worse deeds. Could he actually be a nice guy?

“I just…” My voice trailed off, nerves getting the better of me. I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I want to join your crew, sir.” I bowed my head, keeping my eyes firmly locked on the deck. “I don’t have any family or friends and I can’t give you any money or belongings. I don’t,” I paused, breathes wavering. My heart sped in my chest. “I don’t want to be alone anymore!” As much as I hated myself, the tears I’d been trying to restrain took that as their cue to spring forth. My hands shot forward and covered my eyes, cheeks, mouth. I wanted to hide my face from them. I couldn’t be a manly pirate if I was crying like a baby.

“If you don’t have anything to offer me, then you’ll just be dead weight.” His voice rang out coldly. The ship creaked against the waves and the sun finally dipped down below the horizon. The near silence was numbing, deafening. I had nothing else to say then. It’d be better for them to toss me overboard now and just end my pain.

“You’ll have to work and earn your keep.” He said finally, sighing deeply at the end of his sentence. My head shot up, tears still streaming down my face.

“Are you serious?” My voice was barely a whisper. The captain, surprisingly, had a somber expression on his face. Had I said something to sway him?

“It’s not like I have a choice. We’re a day away from any ports and kicking guys off into the ocean isn’t really my style.” He waved my fears off with a casual gesture: a handshake. My own reached shakily forward into his. “I’m the Shark Captain, Rin Matsuoka.” Did they call him that because of the teeth?

I nodded a little. “It’s nice to meet you?” I was still nervous, too nervous. He wasn’t going to kill me. He was letting me join his crew, I just needed to take a few deep breaths and relax.

“That’s the spirit.” He grinned a little wider, a quiet chuckle escaping as well. “I’m going back for my meal now. Make Sousuke or Momo show you around. You can get settled tonight, but make sure you’re ready to work in the morning.” He pulled his hand back and turned away, clicking back off where he’d come from.

I looked back just in time for an arm to hook around my neck and pull me into a headlock. “Welcome to the crew, newbie! I’m Momotarou Mikoshiba, but you can call me Momo!” He shook me around a little, but seemed more than overjoyed to meet me. I felt like I might have been getting a little seasick, but this was making me feel a lot worse.

“Can you stop please? You’re going to make me sick.” I used my hands to pry his grip on me off and stood back straight again. The tall, brooding one from before stepped forward menacingly. He’d been really scary before, and I was afraid that maybe he was the kind of pirate I’d been expecting after all.

Instead, he copied the captain and extended his hand. “Call me Sousuke.” The corners of his mouth upturned ever so slightly, changing his entire demeanor instantly. The air around him no longer said hard and cold, but slightly yielding. He must’ve been great if he could handle Momo. The spunky orange haired boy seemed nice enough, but I could tell he’d be annoying at least some of the time.

I extended my hand in reply. “It’s good to meet both of you. I-I guess you can call me Nitori then.” I stammered, still a little nervous. Although, being on the deck alone with the two of them put me at ease.

“Huh? You don’t go by Ai?” Momo asked, sticking his face near mine. I scuttled back a step and felt myself blush.

“No!” I shouted. “I mean, no. Please just call me Nitori.” I tried to regain what little composure I’d had.

They two of them laughed, though in sincerity. Since the approval by their captain, their attitudes had changed completely. I felt like I was part of the group, even though I’d just joined. It felt good, really good. Things were finally looking up, I guessed. Sousuke gestured to show me around and I followed, a bit of excitement replacing the pit of nerves in my stomach. I wondered if the pirate life really was for me after all.


	2. Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking a tour, and meeting an unsavory character, Nitori finds himself assigned a chore with a person that he'd rather avoid.

For the rest of the evening, I followed Sousuke and Momo around, learning the dark-wooded rooms of the great Samezuka pirate ship. In all, it was incredibly large, more than enough room for each member to spread out a little, even me. Despite that, the crew was actually rather small, only around a dozen people to manage the modestly sized ship.

The entire crew was young men, but they were busy in the evening time, so most of the interactions were rushed and I felt like I forgot a lot of names. That would make for an awkward morning when I was working alongside them.

One in particular stood out in my mind. He was tall and lithe, with catlike, amethyst eyes and pearly pink hair. It wasn’t so much that he was more striking than anyone else, but before I could even speak, he slid forward and wrapped an arm around my waist. He whispered something in my ear, but all the blood rushing to my face drowned his words out. I tried to take a step back and free myself, but all I ended up doing was knocking his meal off onto the floor and feeling like a moron.

Kisumi was his name, and once we’d cleared the room, Sousuke assured me that he was like that with nearly everyone and I shouldn’t read too much into it. I nodded and we headed down into the barracks. Everyone slept in here, minus the captain who had his own quarters. Like the rest of the ship, the walls were dark brown wood and smelled strongly of salt and unwashed bodies. In the long room, there were at least twice as many hammock beds as there were crew members, probably to accommodate for cases like me.

I can’t imagine that too many people would willingly join a pirate crew, especially considering the crew was just a large group of young men; not the burly, criminals I’d expected. I sighed and fell back onto the bed that Sousuke had assigned to me. I pulled the blanket out from under me and curled up into a warm, tired ball. Unfortunately, my peace only lasted a moment. Momo burst into the room a few seconds later and made a loud shriek.

“Nitori, we’re bunk mates? That’s so exciting!” He threw off his shoes and jumped into the hammock next to mine, making the wood groan loudly under his sudden weight.

“I guess so? We’ll only be sleeping in here though, so it’s not that big of a deal.” I replied, hoping maybe he’d catch the sign that I was physically and mentally exhausted and leave me alone.

He didn’t.

“Yeah, but we can hang out and tell each other spooky ghost stories and I can tell you about all the great pirate adventures we’ve been on!” I didn’t catch a single word after ‘pirate adventures’.

I shot forward, sending the gray blanket fluttering gently down my chest. “Did you say pirate adventures?” Maybe that was the true part! I’d read a million pirate stories but they hadn’t proven to be very true so far. Swashbuckling tales of treasure and romance… my dream come true!

“Well, uh,” he stuttered. Momo mumbled something and rolled over, facing away from me. Was it something I said?

“Say again?” I replied, leaning dangerously far forward. If I was lucky, the hammock wouldn’t tip over and spear my face with splinters. “I didn’t hear you.”

“I said that I haven’t been on any cool pirate adventures!” Momo looked back at me, an upset expression plastered on his face. He started flailing around in the hammock. “I joined the crew a long time ago but we haven’t done anything fun yet! Where is the adventure and the romance… well, I already found the roma—”

“Will you two put a lid on it already? We’re trying to sleep over here.” Sousuke yelled across the room. I jumped a little and flopped back down, disappointed yet again. There had to be something fun to do around here, right? Maybe we’d run into a ship tomorrow and pillage all their gold and jewelry! Thoughts like that floated in my mind while the gentle rocking of the ship soothed me to sleep.

Momo’s drowsy eyes shook me awake the next morning and led me off to breakfast. I hadn’t met the man doling out the food yet, but his orange hair and big attitude were a dead giveaway to his identity. This _had_ to be Momo’s brother, or at least a cousin.

“Who’s this Momo? Did you make a new friend?” The tall man looked between the two of us before pausing on me, staring me down with skepticism. “Is he the new guy? He’s kind of… scrawny.”

“H-hey! I am not scrawny!” I pouted a little. “I’m just thin, I guess. I don’t really eat a lot.” I shrugged it off and picked up a plate. Unlike the hearty serving of porridge on the plate in front of me, I was used to much less. Up until recently, I’d been living in an orphanage. I guess I got too old since they left me out on the same doorstep that I’d been dropped on something like eighteen years ago.

“If you say so, kid. Maybe you should take two servings and bulk up a little.” His face lit up a little as he reached over the table and plopped another large spoonful onto my plate.

“Sei, Sei, can I have more too?” Momo held his plate forward and Sei, apparently, just snorted.

“No way, Momo. You’ll get fat if you keep eating the way you do.” Sei laughed and turned away to plate more food for the other crew members.

“That’s so unfair! I can’t believe that Nitori gets more than me!” He huffed loudly over to a wooden table and sat, beckoning me over.

I walked quietly behind him and sat in a chair across the table, acutely conscious of the stares of the other people in the room. I was aware that I was still new, but it was a little unnerving to be under all of their scrutiny.

“That was my brother, Sei.” Momo said bitterly. He must’ve actually been upset because he was eating pretty slowly. I tried to restrain myself, but once I started eating, I couldn’t stop. It had been too long since I’d had a hot meal, and the porridge was perfectly sweet and thick and sticky and I was full before I’d even finished half of it.

The spoon clattered loudly against the glass plate as I forced down the last bite. All I really wanted do now was go back to sleep, but that was the cue for the captain to come in. Rin wore the same outfit as he did yesterday, but no one made a big deal about his entrance. Shouldn’t they be like… actually, I don’t even know what they should have been doing. He’s the captain though, was I supposed to bow?

He nodded at Sei, grabbed a plate and… sat next to me? I was too full to object, but I couldn’t imagine sitting next to an actual pirate captain.

“Good morning, captain!” Momo had perked back up, but still sort of moved the food around on his plate without finishing it. I tried not to let my nerves show, but having the captain seated next to me only made my knees shake.

Rin made a quiet grunting sound and devoured his plate faster than anyone else. He must’ve had important captain things to do! That was an exciting thought.

“You ready to work today? I already talked to Kisumi and Sei about duties for you.” He looked over at me, piercing my watery blue eyes with his fiery red ones.

“W-what kind of duties?” I tried to hold my voice steady, but I ended up stuttering anyways. He was going to think I was an idiot.

“I was going to have you out on the deck, but you look kind of weak, so I think you’d just be in the way.” He shrugged. “So I talked to Kisumi, who’s in charge of laundry, and Sei, who’s in charge of the kitchen, and you’ll be working with them from now on.” I dimly registered a chair pulling out across the table. I’d have to work with Kisumi again? He was the creepy guy from yesterday that tried to pull me into his lap or something weird like that. I was afraid he’d try it again, especially if we were alone.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Nitori.” Sei’s voice snapped me out of my despondency. “I only need your help with dishes and dinner, so you’ll be able to sleep a little longer in the mornings.” I nodded and tried to seem excited about it, but I was still nervous about Kisumi.

“Okay, that sounds manageable enough.” I kept my gaze squarely on the table. “When do I start?” I felt my heart thumping in my chest a little bit and my breakfast threatening to make its return.

“You’re done eating, right?” Rin asked, tapping my plate with his spoon. “I can walk you down there. I don’t have anything else to do this morning.”

His chair scraped against the wood as he stood up and collected our plates. I sighed heavily and followed suit, still sleepy and nervous. That probably wasn’t a winning combination, but we left the dining hall anyway. Rin didn’t seem very captain-y to me. He was charismatic, sure, but he didn’t really give off a threatening aura. Maybe he was so good because he was just a regular guy and the crew respected him. That was admirable, at least.

“So you’re from that town back there, huh?” He asked. I just nodded, trying to ignore the awkward tension in the air as we walked.

“Yeah, I-Iwatobi is where I—” I stopped. Why would I tell him about that? It was unlikely that he would even care, so it was better that I quit while I was ahead. “Iwatobi is where I’m from.” I finished my thought.

“What about your family? Are you sure they won’t miss you after running off like that?” The pace slowed, leaving us standing in an empty hallway.

“I don’t… have a family.” I stared at the floor, having admitted what I just stopped myself from saying a moment earlier.

“Did they die or…” He pried more. I wanted him to stop. I didn’t know him, he didn’t know me, and why it even mattered, I didn’t know.

“I don’t know. I’m an orphan.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, hoping the questions would stop.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Nitori. I have a mom and sister back on the mainland, but my old man got lost at sea years ago.” I looked up from the floor to see his eyes planted where mine were.

“I-I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. It was hard for him to relate to me, but he was trying? “Why?”

“Why what?” He met my stare, one of his maroon brows raised in confusion.

“Why do you care?” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I held them back. This was the only thing I was really sensitive about, but he was asking me these questions like it was no big deal.

“Because you’re part of my crew, you idiot.” His hand went up to my head and he roughly squeezed it. “That means that we’re friends now, and friends talk to each other. Besides,” he loosed his grip. “I heard what you said yesterday, about being alone.”

My heart stopped in my chest and I swallowed hard. “You… heard that?”

“How could I not?” He shouted. “You were practically bawling at that point and totally embarrassing! If I had thrown you overboard after that, the rest of the crew would’ve lynched me!” He laughed. He actually laughed at me.

“I’m… sorry then. I didn’t mean to burden you like this.” I felt a little dejected. He basically just told me that I only got to stay because I made myself look like a baby.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that, I promise. It’s just that you were so adamant in joining the crew that I think you surprised everyone. The last new kid, Momo, he’s a lazy bum. All he ever does is follow Sousuke around and help him with his chores.” He sighed exasperatedly and shook his head. “At least you seem like you’ll be useful.”

In spite of how idiotic I felt, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll try my hardest, but I’ve never done cooking before and I barely did laundry. We were lucky to eat once a week and we never had extra clothes.”

“It’s not that hard. I help out occasionally, and Kisumi and Sei’ll teach you all you need to know.” He said it again. I had to work with Kisumi.

“Isn’t that guy… weird though? He made me really uncomfortable yesterday and I really don’t want to have to spend any extra time with him.” I felt a little embarrassed just thinking about it.

Rin just rolled his eyes. “He might act all weird, but I guarantee he’ll change as soon as I leave the room. They all tell me that as soon as there’s more than one person in the room, he acts all flirtatious. If you can handle Kisumi, then you can handle anything else this ship will throw at you.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it then, captain.” I tried to smile a little, but I was sure it just looked forced.

He scoffed loudly and started walking down the hallway. “You can call me Rin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have planted the seeds of shipping! I tried really hard to make this chapter at least as good as the first one, so I hope you enjoy (and comment! ;) )


	3. Dirty Laundry

Walking into the room with Rin, Kisumi immediately locked eyes with me. A sway of the hips later and he was right in front of me.

“Look who came back for more,” he winked, not bothering to wipe the suds off his wrists before grabbing onto mine. “It’s always the cute ones, they just can’t get enough of me.” The hem of his faded red shirt fluttered as his free hand pulled my chest into his. At this point, my face was more red than his shirt, and I was sweating, despite the cool temperature of the room.

“Rin, help me,” I leaned back and grabbed onto his shoulder, sighing in relief when his arms came up to pry the two of us apart. Now that I was freed, I took a few quick steps away from Kisumi, locking me firmly behind Rin.

“How rude, I was just trying to have a little fun with him. Break in the new recruits and such, you know, Captain.” An eyebrow went up and Rin just sighed. As bombastic as Kisumi seemed, it looked like Rin had been right after all. He was just a jokester trying to get a rise out of anyone he could. Working with him might not be such a pain after all.

“Spare me, Kisumi.” He skirted around me and headed back to the door. “Just put Ai to good use, alright?”

Kisumi chuckled darkly. “Oh, I will.” My heart started beating faster, fraying my nerves even further. As soon as the door shut, Kisumi’s demeanor changed completely. His wide eyes seemed to narrow and he looked completely disinterested, flopping back down in front of the basin tub where he was when we entered.

“Don’t just stand there, grab something and toss it in.” He ordered. I swallowed a little before I bent down to grab a few pairs of pants. I’d done the laundry back at the orphanage for the younger kids, just so they could have something clean to wear. Most of the older ones did their own laundry but downright refused to help the children. It always irked me that they could be too selfish to help children.

The water we used was obviously saltwater, so even after soaping them up and rinsing them out, they still carried a bit of a brine-y smell. I didn’t even realize it at first, but Kisumi had stopped working completely and was jotting something down in a small journal. I glanced up to meet his furtive gaze, chills running down my spine.

“What are you doing?” I asked, dreading his answer.

His writing utensil, a piece of charred wood, tapped lightly on the page as he continued observing me. “I just like keeping tabs on what everyone is up to, Ai.”

“Call me Nitori.” I replied, feeling a little more than creeped out.

His expression fell. “But the captain can call you Ai.”

“That’s different though.” I sloshed the shirt I was washing down, sending a little of the water over the edge and wetting my leg. I cursed silently and grabbed one of the shirts off the floor to blot at the wet spot.

“Why is it different, you klutz?” Kisumi pressed it. Why did it bother him so much?

“Because I li—” I stopped. “Because I owe Rin a lot and I barely know you.”

“You were about to say that it was because you liked him, weren’t you?” He smirked a little, thinking he caught me.

“He’s done a lot for me, of course I like him. I just thought it would be rude to say that I didn’t like you.” I retorted, already tired of spending time with Kisumi. “I’m going to go see Momo and collect the rest of the laundry. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I tossed the shirt I’d been using as a towel into the tub. It had a big stain of unknown red liquid that I hoped wasn’t blood all over it, so it would need to soak for a bit to get the stain out. I grimaced at the inconveniently placed wet spot on my pants. It looked like I’d pissed myself.

Almost out the door, I flinched when Kisumi caught my arm. “Stay away from the captain, that shark belongs to me.” His face, which had been a little mischievous a moment before, had hardened into a dangerous stare. Coupled with the grip on my arm, it made me a little afraid of him.

I’d been worried that he’d try to have his way with me, but it seemed more like he wanted to punch me than lay me. His hand released and I hurried quickly out the door, conscious of the ring of bruises that would likely appear soon.

The barracks seemed like the best bet to find Momo. Sousuke was in charge of keeping the lower levels of the ship in working order. Surely Momo would have bothered him about repairing his bunk after the ship complained under his weight the previous evening.

I forgot to take into account that Momo is an idiot, though. When I walked into the barracks, Sousuke’s back was to me, crouched over Momo’s hammock.

“Hey Sousuke, have you seen Momo? He’s supposed to help me get the rest of the laundry.” Sousuke’s large body stiffened suddenly and he shot back up. A flash of orange hair later and Momo stood in front of me, looking a little sweaty. “Are you alright? You’re not getting sick are you?”

“I was just… checking his forehead.” Sousuke chimed in, leaning back on the dangerous hammock. It could barely handle Momo’s weight and Sousuke was a lot bigger than Momo.

“I wouldn’t lean on that if,” I started, but the hammock had already pulled out of the ceiling. A large piece of wood had come down and landed on top of Sousuke. At once, Momo and I ran over, lifting the heavy splintered board from his chest.

He seemed to be alright, but he held onto his shoulder. I opened my mouth to ask if he was okay, but Momo zipped between us.

“Are you okay?” I couldn’t see Momo’s expression, but the wince on Sousuke’s face seemed to soften as he looked down at the shorter boy between us.

“I will be. I just need to sit down for a few minutes.” He paused. “Preferably on something that won’t collapse on me.”

Any other time, Momo probably would’ve laughed and made a joke back. He turned towards me, jaw clenched, a grave expression marring his otherwise cheerful face. What could have gotten him all worked up like that? Sousuke seemed fine, so it was no big deal.

“Why did you come over here?” Momo asked, his tone a little venomous.

I broke eye contact. “I was hoping you could help me gather the rest of the laundry up. Sorry if I bothered you.”

He sighed. “Fine, just stay there.” Before I even realized it, Momo had tossed all of the stray clothes into a bag and shuffled me out of the room. Weird, but at least they didn’t say anything about my pants.

I dreaded heading back to Kisumi right away, so it was lucky that I ran into Rin to occupy me. He was out on the deck, leaned on the railing. The weak light of morning had given way to harsh rays that reflected brightly off the surface of the sea. I’d only had a few chances to even look at how the sea pushed and pulled and tossed and I found myself caught up in how the dark blue waters turned black the farther down they went.

I hadn’t realized that I’d meandered over to Rin’s side, leaving the laundry bag near the door. “It’s great, isn’t it?” Rin sighed, setting his hip against the wood. “The water, I mean.”

“It looks a lot different than I thought it would.” I replied. “I just thought it was a long expanse of flat, blue water.” I guessed that everything I read was wrong.

“Just wait until we have a storm. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a whale sized wave plummeting towards you.” He laughed.

“I don’t think I’ve died until I’ve seen that either.” I shuddered, hoping that would never happen.

“Nah, it’s not so bad. It can be fun if it’s been too quiet.” He socked me lightly in the arm. I put mine up to defend myself, but he just grabbed my wrist.

“What happened to your arm? Is that from yesterday?” He was looking hard at the circle of purple on my forearm.

“I guess so. I bruise pretty easily.” I lied. It was from Kisumi assaulting me because he thinks that I’m going to go after you, I added silently. “I’ll be more careful, I promise.” I pulled my hand back, suddenly aware of the awkward silence between us.

“What made you choose this?” He gestured around to the men working away. “You could’ve gone anywhere.”

I thought about it while staring at the sea. “I read so much when I was younger that I had to steal books from travelers as they went through the village. My favorites were always the tales of pirates on the high seas, searching for treasure and stealing from other ships and it was just…” I sighed. “Not possible, apparently.”

“We go pirating occasionally. We have to be able to actually knock the other ship over though, or there’s no point. We’d be killing ourselves.” A small dot popped up on the horizon, an island? A small grin popped up on Rin’s face. “Why don’t you go back to work, I need to have a conversation with someone.”

I nodded and plodded away. “Hey,” Rin called. “Meet me back here when you’re done working.”

I made a face at him, but agreed. I hurried back to Kisumi. He was scrubbing the red stain out of that shirt when I returned. I poured out the bag of clothes between us so that we could continue to wash. By the time the pile of clothes had been hung up in the side of the room, Sei was gathering me up to return to the kitchen.

After dinner, I sat there with my hands in more brine-y water. If this was what I did each day, my hands would likely wither away to nothing. On the bright side, Momo had cheered back up and helped me clean the dishes as an apology for earlier. That made the job go by much quicker and I met Rin back on the deck, like he’d asked me to.

The sun had given way to the waning moon, but it soon occurred to me that the giant blot of darkness in the distance was the island we’d seen earlier in the day.

“Are we stopping there for something?” I asked, approaching the captain. His red hair flew over his shoulder as he turned, excitedly grabbing for my shoulders.

“We’re going to have a treasure hunt tomorrow, Ai! You can consider it your initiation.” He showed off his teeth again, too pointy.

“Wait, we’re searching for treasure?” My eyes widened. “Do you think we’ll find gold or silver? I wonder if it’ll be buried in a rough, wooden chest.” I blathered on for a few more minutes, suddenly looking forward to what the next day would bring.

What could be better than buried treasure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I wrote this at like 3 am and I thought it was bad, but it could be a lot worse tbh. Anyhoo, Soumomo is chugging right along, but Ai hasn't really caught on yet.
> 
> Treasure Hunt next chapter and probably the beginning sweet Rintori because things are going to happen on that island, man. I promise.


	4. Initiate by Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the expectation for a treasure hunt, Nitori and Momo go to the island only to find out that they're being officially initiated into the crew.

I was the last to be woken the next morning. The barracks were empty, except Momo. He stood the near the door, increasingly impatient with each passing moment. I could tell by the way his foot drummed hollowly against the floor. When I tossed my legs off the side, he bolted over and grabbed my arm. I hadn’t been fully awake a moment ago, but I was now.

We went to the kitchen and grabbed a quick piece of bread for breakfast, not the feast of porridge from the prior morning. I was more than overjoyed to actually get to eat breakfast on a regular basis, so it didn’t bother me too much.

Before I had even swallowed the last bite of the dense bread, I was being pulled up to the deck. The small island from last night turned out to be a lush, green jungle. It was brimming with large trees and bushes and all sorts of flowers that I’d never even seen before. I never imagined that such vibrantly colored flowers really existed.

Most of the crew was nowhere to be seen, but the anchor had been tossed off the side of the ship and a small boat had been put out for me and Momo to get to the shore. I carefully climbed down the side of the ship, trying hard to not fall into the water. I could swim, sure, but not well. I’d never even tried to swim in waters this deep, so I could probably flounder for a moment and then dip below the surface and be gone forever.

I shuddered at that thought and grabbed an oar to help row us the short distance up to the island. There were three other small rowboats just like ours on the pale yellow beach. Momo grunted loudly as we dragged it out of the squishy wet sand and onto the drier beach.

“That was way harder than I thought it would be!” Momo laughed, heading towards the small clearing in the thick foliage. I hadn’t noticed it from the ship, but there was about a two person wide path that led deeper into the jungle. They must’ve carved it out earlier before I woke up.

The scent of the sea ebbed as we went further in, but the temperature and humidity rose. The cool wind blowing in had been completely blocked off by the thick foliage, and I found myself nearly dripping with sweat by the time we caught up to the others.

Apparently they had been discussing something and the majority of them took our arrival as their exit. Their gazes held a bit of humor as they padded back off where we’d come from. Rin and Sousuke were the only two that stayed behind in the small clearing.

The trees made a small ring and seemed to scrape the azure sky clean of clouds. Rin and Sousuke stood out against all the green. Momo, clearly not reading the situation, ran straight over to Sousuke and started complaining about the heat. I stood a few feet away from Rin and tried to not make it awkward.

“I was wondering when you’d get up, sleeping beauty.” He cackled. I made a sort of scrunched face in reply. They had all said that I was “as pretty as a doll”, but I couldn’t help wanting to blush in reply. I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it, not that I was really sure what to make of anything anymore.

“I’m here now, isn’t that enough?” I hoped it would come out like I had intended it to; a joke, rather than an attack. He left his weighted gaze on me for a moment, then the corners of his eyes crinkled at the edge and a gentle laugh rang out.

“You’re a little can of gunpowder, aren’t you? Doesn’t take much to make you go off.” He shook his head. “Guess you know you won’t be bored then.”

I wanted to speak up in my defense, but Momo zipped back over and cut me off.

“Why are the four of us out here anyways?” He bowled me over. I chewed on the inside of my cheek to placate a sigh.

“You’re having a treasure hunt.” Rin smirked mischievously, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. Weren’t treasure hunts supposed to involve maps and lots of hunting around and a big X to mark the spot?

“What’s the catch?” I felt myself blurt out. Three sets of eyebrows went up and suddenly all eyes were on me.

“You’re sharp too.” He chuckled. “I hid a golden medallion around here somewhere. Whichever one of you finds it gets to stay on as a crew member. The other one gets dumped in the next town we stop at.” His expression darkened, and my pulse quickened. “You two get to spend all night on this island and search for it. Sousuke and I will be heading back to the ship now, have fun you two.”

Immediately, Sousuke took a step forward and held Rin back. “You can’t seriously be thinking about leaving these two… kids out here like this.” His dark brows were furrowed in an expression that conveyed concern and… anxiety? Why would he be anxious when we were the ones stuck out here?

“We all had to go through initiation, Sousuke. And Momo skirted around it for too long already, so this is the perfect chance to test out the new blood.” Rin stared daggers at Sousuke, and I felt the awkward tension I’d wanted to avoid.

Sousuke clenched his jaw and took off, brushing his arm across Momo’s shoulder. He was gone in a flash, leaving us behind with Rin. I didn’t want to say anything, but Momo looked too shocked for words.

“What happens if we don’t find the medallion at all?” I chewed on the inside of my cheek a little more. At this rate, I’d be clean through in a matter of minutes.

He shrugged and began walking away. “You’ll both be out.”

My eyes went as wide as Momo’s mouth. Rin laughed as he slunk off towards the ship, leaving the two of us alone to search for the medallion.

All I wanted to do at the moment was find somewhere to sit down and try to suppress the panic I felt. I had about three seconds to process it before Momo screamed loudly and began to upturn every single rock, plant, and moveable object in the vicinity. I chased him down and grabbed him in an effort to calm him down.

I didn’t expect him to be fully sobbing. He reached up to wipe his face off and streaked it with dirt from his hands. His head collapsed onto my shoulder.

“Nitori, I don’t want to do this.” He put his hand on my other shoulder. “I don’t want you to get kicked off because of me, but I don’t want to get kicked off either.”

“I agree, but we still need to find it or we’re both done for. We can figure out what to do after that.” I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I just stood there with Momo on me. “Plus we need to find something to eat and some clean water. It will only be one night, but we’d probably be a little more comfortable that way.”

Momo shot back and pulled at the small sack at his waist. “Oh, I have food, Nitori! I took some of the bread we had for breakfast in case I got hungry later.” He pulled out an entire loaf of bread that probably could’ve fed at least five people. My face blanked. I wasn’t sure if Momo was an idiot or a genius.

“That takes care of one problem, at least. Now,” I turned and surveyed the jungle. “Where would Rin hide something like a medallion around here?” I expected to see maybe a hint or a disheveled bush, but he either didn’t leave any or Momo had already ruined it.

“I already looked all over the place! It isn’t around here, Nitori.” He gestured around to the mess he’d made.

“Alright, let’s search for water then and we can come back for the medallion later.” I suggested. He was probably a little nervous to begin with, so hopefully distracting him would sober him back up. I could handle regular Momo easily enough, but mopey anxious Momo would be an entirely different creature.

We headed further into the island where the jungle gave way to a clearing. I hoped we wouldn’t encounter any dangerous wildlife as we blindly wandered around. I tried to note landmarks so we could get back, but there really wasn’t anything that stood out more than anything else. We’d have to rely on blind faith to get us back to where we started.

I didn’t know how much time we spent wandering around in the jungle, but when we returned to the beach, I realized we’d walked clear to the other side. Momo groaned loudly and turned around. I followed him instead, giving up on being leader. It had already grown later in the day and we had failed in finding water.

I’d grown complacent in our venture, but when I heard Momo shout, I snapped out of it. He was suddenly half in the ground.

“Are you alright?” I ran over and grabbed his torso to pull him out.

“Yeah, it surprised me is all.” He brushed the dirt off his pant legs and looked back down in the hole. “There’s something in the bottom though.” He tossed himself onto the ground and reached into it. A small wooden box was what he retrieved and my heart dropped when he opened it.

He held the large gold coin in his dirty hand. “Nitori, I—”

“No,” I put my hand up. “I’m happy for you, Momo. You got it fair and square.” I bit into my cheek and tasted blood. It was about all I could do to stop myself from breaking down right then and there. I’d lost and, once we docked again, I’d say goodbye and try to find something else to do. It was fun for a while, right?

We didn’t bother to make a fire or anything. We had no real tools or experience in camping, so we slept right on the ground. Rather, Momo slept right on the ground. I didn’t sleep at all. Once Momo was out, I simply curled into a ball and let myself cry all the tears I’d resisted earlier. I was really going to be alone again, no friends, no family, no one. I should take the stupid medallion for myself and…

God, I was so pathetic. I could never steal something like that from Momo. He found it before me and he was staying. Surely Sousuke would be excited, considering they were apparently close friends. I’d recently joined the crew, so no one would miss me like that. I wasn’t sure who had more to lose, but either way, the cards had already been played.

I waited until the sun turned the black sky red and I woke Momo up. He grumbled but followed me back out of the jungle. We stood on the beach and waited for Rin to show up. Momo turned to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I didn’t hug him back. I couldn’t bring myself to care anymore.

“Ai, I want you to take the medallion.” He held the shiny metal towards me. My swollen eyes met his.

“I… why?” It was all I could muster.

“Because I heard you crying last night and when you were talking to Rin the other day and,” he frowned. “I have somewhere to go back to, but you don’t. My parents are still out there, waiting for me and Sei to come home. You said you were an orphan, right? It’s worth more if it goes to you, I think.” He forcibly pressed it into my hand. I couldn’t be embarrassed that he heard me crying then because I was too busy crying now.

I threw my arms up and pulled him back into the hug, barely being able to keep myself up on my shaking knees.

“Momo, I won’t let Rin kick you off, I promise. We can talk to him, there has to be something we can do I can’t just let you do something like this!” I sounded desperate. He laughed.

“You’re too nice, but it probably won’t work. The captain never goes back on a decision once he makes it, that’s one of his things.” His expression sagged a little, but he seemed resolute. All that I felt was guilt.

I chewed back at that spot on my cheek again. It was basically a raw open wound in my mouth that probably was a great representation of my emotional state at the moment. It only got worse when the small rowboat with Rin and Sousuke came this way.

No one said anything when I handed him the token. We just climbed back in the boat and returned to the deck of the ship. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I grabbed Rin’s arm and stopped him.

“Wait, please don’t… Don’t kick Momo off because of me!” My voice cracked.

“Nitori, wait.” Momo tried to stop me, but I slapped his hand away.

“You should keep him and send me away because Momo was the one that really found the medallion. He only gave it to me because he felt bad for me, but I can’t let him do that for me.” My gaze fell back to the deck, my chest tightening. Rin crushed my heart when he burst into a raucous laughter. I wanted to cry again.

“You two sure made that one fun, didn’t you?” He clapped me hard on the shoulder. “You both can stay.”

Momo made a loud noise in surprise and started jumping up and down. “Thank you so much captain!” He tried to pull Rin into a hug, but Rin pushed him back.

“Cut it out, Mikoshiba.” He grumbled. “I was never really going to send either of you back, I just wanted to see how you sweat it out.” I felt like collapsing back onto the deck. “You two are really great though, both of you wanted to go home for the other. That’s true friendship right there.” Rin winked at me before turning to head off to wherever his quarters were.

“Rin,” I called after him. “Can I skip duties today? I didn’t sleep last night.”

He laughed again. “Why the hell not? Get some rest, you dumbass!”

I looked over to say something to Momo, but he was already talking rampantly to Sousuke. With a small grin, I left the two of them behind and headed to the barracks. I was asleep as soon as I was in the hammock.

I woke up later to the sound of someone giggling. I cracked my eyes open rolled over to see… Sousuke kissing Momo?

I shot backwards and the hammock flipped, tossing me harshly onto the ground. Sousuke jumped and then was suddenly next to me, helping me up.

“Are you okay, Nitori?” His teal eyes scanned mine.

“W-were you two just, uh, kissing?” I swallowed hard.

Apparently romance was possible on the high seas?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, my first cliffhanger. This chapter ended up being a little longer than the other ones, but it was fun to write. I liked that I got to show off that Momo is a total dweeb, but also altruistic, and... gay. That happened lol.
> 
> I hope you're ready because the next chapter is going to be so gay omg.


	5. The Family Jewels

Sousuke helped me up and immediately turned away. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. I think I saw something that I shouldn’t have. I didn’t really care that they were both men, but maybe it was an issue with them?

Momo was the first one to break the dreadfully awkward silence. “Nitori, you can’t tell anyone, especially not Sei, he would freak out.” His voice flew out faster than a drunk vomiting on the floor. Momo was bright red and he really did look like a peach.

“I won’t say anything, I promise. I was just a little surprised is all.” I shrugged and looked away, probably starting to blush back. No one would date an orphan, so I’d been single my entire life.

Momo grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you for keeping our secret!” I patted him on the back a little and he let me go. What Rin had said about being true friends echoed back through my mind. I didn’t really know what true friends were like, but I had to guess that they were something like this.

“Does anyone else know?” I swallowed as Sousuke’s intense glare returned to mine.

“No.” He reminded me of the first time I saw him, like his gaze could stab right through me and I’d just be another casualty of the sea. “Not even Rin.”

I nodded. “Alright, I swear to you two that I’ll keep my mouth shut.” I must’ve made a funny face or something because Sousuke’s expression broke into laughter. His arm came out and ruffled my hair.

“You’re a good friend, Ai.” He said. I couldn’t help but smile and then Momo had tackled me from behind and the three of us were laughing. This was much better than living alone on the streets. I was beginning to let go of my need for adventure and treasure. Maybe what I’d really needed was just some company to be happy.

After another moment, I politely bowed out and left the two of them alone. I needed to hurry on and get to work anyways. I wasn’t sure whether I should go to Kisumi or Sei, but I opted for the latter first. Sei was a lot nicer than Kisumi was and I didn’t have to worry about him hitting me. I still had the bruises on my arm, but they were a lot more of a yellowy blue and less black and purple.

A shock of orange hair popped up over the cabinet door. He was already working on whatever dinner was, and as soon as the scent hit me, my stomach roared. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I hadn’t had much to drink in the last day. I shot past Sei and straight for a pitcher of water to quench my unimaginable thirst. After I’d poured back half of it, Sei pulled it out of my hands.

“Hey!” I nearly lost a mouthful onto the floor.

He shook his head and sat it back on the counter. “If you drink that much on an empty stomach, you’ll just get sick later.” I pouted and stepped back.

“Is there anything you need me for right now?” I looked expectantly at Sei, hoping that maybe I could avoid Kisumi and his creepy notebook all day.

“Not at the moment, but the captain did tell you that we’re docking tonight, right?” Sei sat the pitcher down and turned back to the cabinet. “Your little fishing village didn’t really have any long term supplies, so we bought what we could to tide us over until we could go somewhere bigger.”

My eyes widened a little and I thought back to when I spied on them at the bar in Iwatobi. Their tired eyes had drinks placed in front of them on the rough wooden tables and I’d thought it was actually boring. However, this time, I’d be part of the group. It’d be me at a table with Momo, Sousuke, Rin, and Sei, talking about the last few days and our plans for the future. Actually having friends was so great, I couldn’t even explain it.

“When do we get there?” I asked, eyes bright and full of excitement. This was even the first time I’d been outside of Iwatobi! What were other towns like?

Sei just laughed. “We’re already there, Nitori.” He pointed off to a porthole and I spied a small dock outside. “That island we stopped at last night was just a stone’s throw from here, so it was a good place to stop in case one of you got hurt while Rin was giving you his dumb little test.”

I’d already stopped listening to Sei speak. “Has everyone left already?”

“Eh,” He shrugged. “Sousuke and Momo said they were going to stick around, and I think the captain had some stuff to take care of before he left, so you might be able to catch him. I’m just cleaning up for the food delivery later on.” I turned back around. I really wanted to go catch Rin and head off the ship, but I still had a job to do.

“Do you need any help?” I was hoping he’d let me go, and it was probably painfully obvious. Sei’s eyes rolled a little and he pointed towards the door.

“Get out of here before I put you to work, Nitori.” He turned back and reached into the cabinet, and I bolted from the room. This was going to be such an exciting and fun day, I ran onto the deck and then carefully off onto the docks, a little afraid of the deep water below. I noticed that Rin was only a little ways ahead of me, so I quickly padded down the yellowy-white wood to catch up him.

“Rin, wait for me!” I shouted, probably unnecessarily. His maroon hair ruffled a bit as he jumped, but his annoyed face melted away when he realized it was just me.

“How’d the nap go?” He gave a pointy grin. The scene of Momo and Sousuke kissing played back through my head.

“It was alright, I feel a lot better now.” I beamed up at him, as we headed off into the city. I wasn’t exactly sure where we were, but vendor stalls lined the salty smelling streets. There were dozens of them, selling pretty much anything you could ever need, sails, jewelry, food, clothing, even liquors, and at one unsavory stall, slaves. The thought of being sold into slavery had always horrified me. One particular time, the orphanage had gotten dangerously low on funds. It was then that they picked a volunteer to be sold so that they could stay open for a bit longer. I was always afraid that it would be me, but I guess that I was too slender and weak-looking to be worth anything.

Rin stopped off at a few places along the way, pulling out gold necklaces, pearls, anything that caught his eyes. When we paused in front of a tailor’s stand, he began to thumb through clothing that was clearly too small for his taller frame. “What’s your favorite color, Ai?”

I thought about it for a second. “I like blue, it always makes me think of the ocean.”

Rin just shook his head and wiggled a shirt out of the pile. “I knew you were going to say that.” His hands held out the shoulders and he pressed it into me. “What about this? You’ve got to get more clothes, and I know you don’t have any money.”

I reached up to feel the slick fabric of the shirt. It was much more luxurious feeling than the itchy yellow cotton shirt I was wearing at the moment. “I like it…”I trailed off. “But you really don’t have to buy me anything, I’m okay with what I have now.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Rin clapped me on the shoulder. “You don’t have to be so worried about it, Ai. I want to buy you stuff, you’re part of the crew now, so let’s just say it’s your enlistment bonus.” He winked a little and pulled out a few more articles of clothing. By the time we stepped away from that particular stall, I had two silky blue shirts, a pair of brown trousers, and a pair of fancy black leather boots to replace the ragged sandals I’d been wearing for as long as I could remember.

Rin grabbed my wrist and led me down an alley. “You should change.” He pointed to the small bag that the woman had placed the clothes in. “I’ll keep an eye out for you.” I felt a blush creep into my face as he went back to the end of the alley and stood watch. I slipped my shoes off and quickly pulled the tattered gray pants off. The air was surprising cool on my naked lower half, but that ended once I slid the thicker brown trousers back over my legs.

I slid the sandals off my feet, liberating them long enough to trap them in the expensive black boots. The sole was surprisingly thick and it took me a few steps to get used to the weight. Finally, I reached over my head and pulled the itchy shirt off. I decided to take a second to air the sweat off before I grabbed a shirt to put on. It felt like I had poured cool liquid fabric all over my chest.

Dressed in my fancy new clothes, I felt like an entirely different person. When I tapped Rin on the shoulder, he jumped a little. His eyes widened a little when he scanned me.

“Does it look bad?” I suddenly felt a little apprehensive over the new clothes. He chuckled a little and slapped me on the arm.

“You look like a real pirate now. You’re just missing one thing.” He reached into one of the bags he was carrying and plopped something cold in my hands. I held my hand up to see something shiny and silver. Upon closer inspection, it was a necklace I didn’t remember him picking up. Even if it was just a simple chain, it felt like the weight on my collarbone was just right when I slid it over my head.

“Now I’m really in your debt.” I laughed a little sarcastically, and thankfully he took it as a joke.

“You’ll have to work it off in the kitchen. I’ll make sure Sei cracks down on you.” He closed one eye, but then his serious façade broke and we were in titters standing in an alley. He gestured off more into the village, and I followed. I couldn’t imagine why we were coming into the residential part of the town, but the vendor stalls abruptly ended before a dirt path.

I stayed close to Rin as we passed by a few people. They were all dressed like, well, civilians. Meanwhile, the two of us looked like blood and water walking past their homes. I expected the houses to be run-down cottages like in Iwatobi, but the buildings were all smooth dark wood and skillfully crafted. The awnings bowed up proudly into the air to express that these people were probably well off.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I had to ask. “Rin, where are we going?” He didn’t turn back, but pointed ahead to a house with a girl standing in front of it. All I could make out was a flare of maroon hair that ran down her head to her back. By the time I was right in front of her, it was obvious that this was Rin’s sister. Why were at his house? Why would he bring me, of all people, to his house?

The girl took the last few steps and pulled Rin down into a nearly strangulating hug. I suddenly no longer envied him for having a sibling. The girl eyed me for a moment, but put her hand out for me to shake. “I’m Gou, it’s nice to meet you.”

The next few moments were a whirlwind. The door opened and a woman with the same hair, though streaked with gray, rushed out. Tears ran down her cheeks as she ushered the two of us into the sweet smelling home. If I didn’t know any better, and I probably didn’t, something amazing was cooking inside.

The high ceiling held in a little smoke as we sat around a small table the living area. Gou had not stopped speaking for a second, at least until their mother began to speak and she immediately went quiet. “Rin, I’m so happy to see you. Have you come to stay for the night?”

Rin blinked calmly. “I can’t stay, I’m sorry.” I could see his hands shaking in his lap, and I tried hard to not frown. “I just wanted to come see you before we left again. Oh,” he sat his bag on the table and began to pull out the necklaces and jewels that he’d bought at the pier. “I brought the two of you some things that I picked up along the way.”

Gou reached out to pick up a necklace, but her hand was swatted by their stern mom. “Rin, is this all that you’ve gotten out of this?”

Rin’s expression quickly dropped. “I just wanted you to…”

“You just wanted to go out like your father and never come back to us? Is that it?” Even though she wasn’t looking at me, I still felt like her eyes were burning holes into me.

“It’s not like that, I swear. I want to—” She cut him off once more.

“You want to make me stay up every night and wonder if I’ll ever see you again.” She sounded so cold.

The three of us all jumped as Rin slammed his hand down on the table, scattering the things he’d laid on the table out all over the room. “I wanted to learn more about Dad and what he did and so that’s why I left. I told you that before, but you never even tried to listen. I’m leaving, I wish I hadn’t even come to see you.”

He grabbed his bag, and against Gou’s protests, he fled the house. I looked between his mom and sister, and headed off after him.

“Rin, wait for me!” I couldn’t see him on the path anywhere and I got a little nervous. I’d likely get targeted if I tried to head back to the ship alone. If I couldn’t find Rin, I’d hate to see what befell me. I searched around behind some of the houses before I finally spotted him poised on a hill. He was facing away from me, but I could see his back quivering as I approached.

My heart felt heavy in my chest as I slipped down onto the hard earth next to him. He had his knees pulled up to his chest with his face buried in between. “Rin, are you alright?” He didn’t reply, but I knew that there were tears flowing down his face. I hesitantly placed my hand on his shoulder. “I always wished that I had a family like that. Even if it was just a mom and sister, it’s better than always wondering why you were left behind. I wonder if that’s something I’ll ever be able to get over.”

Rin’s head slowly came up from his knees. His eyes looked a little puffy and his cheeks were the color of the scarlet sunset. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I didn’t think she’d be so… cruel.”

“I’m sorry that she said that to you. I just… always wondered what a mom would be like.” I looked off into the sky and ruminated on that quietly for a second. As we stood up, Rin closed the gap and tossed one of his arms around my back. “Thanks for that, Ai. I owe you one.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I tried not to think too hard about the fleetingly warm touch of his hand on my back after he pulled away. Being touched wasn’t really something I was familiar with, unless I was being struck by someone else.

I followed Rin back to the pier and we headed into a small bar. It was well past dark by the time we entered, but most of the crew members that had shown up were already a little tipsy and beyond the point of carrying a conversation. I sat down next to Momo, who was a little too clingy on Sousuke in his buzzed state. He immediately leaned on me.

“Aiiiii,” He drawled. “Yer such a great guuuuuuy. Yer even gonna keep my secret with souuuuuu—” Sousuke immediately clapped his hand on Momo’s mouth, keeping him from giving away their own secret. Momo looked a little startled, but it quickly faded back into a sort of vacant stare.

“You’ll have to forgive him. He gets a little… loose in the head when he drinks.” Sousuke frowned a little at his lover. It was kind of funny once I realized that Sousuke seemed to be as sober as ever. He probably only did it so Momo wouldn’t inadvertently blow their secret to the rest of the crew. He was a smart guy.

Rin promptly ordered two drinks, and I frowned a little when a large mug of ale was placed in front of me. “Should I be drinking?” I prompted Rin.

He shrugged his shoulders and took a long drink of his own, knocking out half of it in one sitting. Not wanting to kill the party, I sampled my own. The taste was strong and bitter, but the more I drank, the more I wanted. At least if I ended up like Momo, I could count on Sousuke to keep me from making a fool out of myself. Eventually, I’d finished the first mug and been brought another.

I felt a little bubbly, like something funny had lodged itself in my head and I couldn’t think around it. After finishing the second one, it only got worse. I could barely even form a sentence, let alone walk back to the ship. It really did end up being a good thing that Sousuke had stayed sober because he ended up having to lead me, Momo, and Rin back to the ship on his own.

We stopped by the captain’s chamber first and when Rin clutched his door handle, he insisted that I go with him. Sousuke must’ve just been tired of the three of us, so he just dismissed me and took off with Momo. I absent-mindedly followed Rin into his room, only noting that he seemed to have a real actual bed.

The last thing I really remember from that night was Rin tackling me back onto the bed and sliding his hands up my shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I promised more gay this chapter and I think I delivered, though I'm sure some of you are screaming about how it ended a few paragraphs too early ;))
> 
> In my defense, this chapter is like 1000 words longer than any of the rest of them so #SorryNotSorry lol


	6. Overboard

The light streaming in from the porthole woke me the next morning. For a moment, the cushion of the bed made me feel like I was back in the orphanage again. I lurched forward out of shock, launching Rin’s arm off of my waist. The cool air in the ship stung my naked chest, and I realized that my pants were unfastened.

My head pounded and my vision blurred from all the alcohol. Not only could I not remember what had happened the previous evening, but I didn’t even know where I was. There were a large amount of books strewn all around the room with a desk in one corner and a large chest in another. The bed was placed squarely against the wall in the middle of the room and was covered in a bright green sheet. As my eyes skimmed around the room, they fell to Rin, asleep on the bed next to me.

As he rolled over, the sheet drifted off of him and to reveal that he was fully nude. My face flushed bright scarlet. Why was he naked? Rin must’ve been cold because he curled into a ball before groaning and cracking his eyes open. It was clear that it took him a moment to regain his senses, because he looked at me so strangely before jumping back and landing on the floor.

“Why are you, why am I,” he paused for a second. “Why are we both naked?” Rin shouted, beginning to redden himself.

“I don’t know.” I immediately got up and picked my shirt off the floor, avoiding eye contact. “I just woke up like this.” I slipped it quickly onto my arms and began buttoning it.

Rin grabbed the bed sheet and wrapped it tightly around his waist. “Ai, we didn’t… do anything last night, did we?”

My breath hitched in my throat for a second. I couldn’t remember anything from last night after entering the bar. Had we done something? That would sure explain why I was shirtless and he was naked, but… why couldn’t I remember!

“I don’t remember, Rin.” I looked at him, a little horrified and picked up my boots. I needed to escape and find someone to talk to, someone that could help me clear my head.

“Ai, it’s not a big deal, we can talk about this.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and I took that as my cue to run as fast as I could out of the room. This was all happening too fast, I couldn’t even look at Rin without turning as red as the flowers on the island we stopped at.

I managed to find my way down the halls, back to the barracks where Sousuke, the quartermaster, was cleaning around in the bunks. I sped past him and tried to avoid his line of sight, but as soon as I sat down, he immediately came over.

“What’s the matter, Nitori?” Sousuke sat down next to me on the hammock. I wondered where Momo was. Surely he’d be back soon.

“It’s nothing, really.” I reassured him. “Where’s Momo? I’m surprised you two aren’t together.” I hoped changing the subject to something that was more pertinent to Sousuke might take the eye off my own potential transgressions.

“He’s off in the kitchen getting breakfast. He was all hungover, so I figured that would be a good way to alleviate it.” Without warning, he pressed a hand to my forehead. “You feel a little warm, are you getting ill?”

It was probably just embarrassment. What if Rin never wanted to speak to me again? Especially considering that I ran out on him. What if he thought I hated him? This was becoming more difficult than I had ever considered. I needed to stop relying on what I expected pirates to be like, because I was wrong every single time.

“No, I just,” I looked at Sousuke. “I just did something really messed up and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

Sousuke’s eyebrows flattened in a look of concern. “Is it something that happened last night?”

“Yes and no?” I replied, trying to withhold the tears that I knew would only make my headache worse. “I woke up in Rin’s bed half naked and he was completely undressed. I don’t know if we did anything or not, but he tried to talk to me and I just grabbed my clothes and ran. Rin hates me now I just—” I was jolted into silence by the door opening behind me.

“Oh, Momo,” Sousuke called. “I hate to be a bother, but Nitori isn’t feeling so well, so could you grab him some water or juice?”

A soft chuckle from behind me made my neck turn like a crack of thunder. Instead of the best friend I had ever known, the worse enemy I’d ever made stood in the doorway. “Sorry, I’m not the little Mikoshiba brother. I just came to collect the laundry for the day since we’re still in port.” Kisumi strode slowly across the room, staring us down with those scheming violet eyes. He slowly leaned down to pick up the bag of clothes that Sousuke had just been filling and cleared the room. “Oh, please go into town today and pick me up some more detergent. Sorry about your problem with the captain, Ai.” Kisumi laughed and shut the door behind him.

My heart stopped. The last thing I needed was for word to get out that the captain was sleeping around with the new recruit. That wouldn’t be good news for either of us. All the tears that I’d been containing pretty easily decided that this was the probably the pinnacle of how horrible I was feeling, and decided to slip through my lashes and down my face. “Sousuke, what am I going to do?”

I pulled my hands up to wipe my face off with the back of my wrists. One of Sousuke’s arms swung around and pulled my head into his shoulder. I just decided to take the moment and cry it out. As bad as I already felt, just bottling up wouldn’t make it any better.

After a few moments, I managed to swallow down all the gross mucus in my throat. The door clicked open again, and I was afraid that it was Kisumi having come back to gloat. Thankfully, the small orange haired man came back, though a little worse for the wear.

I thought I looked rough, but Momo looked he hadn’t slept, or bathed, in a month. If I hadn’t known about the alcohol, I would’ve assumed he had the plague. As soon as he saw me, however, he immediately snapped into alert friend mode.

“Nitori, are you alright?” Momo pounded over quickly, not seeming to care that Sousuke had just been hugging me. That was nice, at least he trusted me.

“Not exactly.” I might as well just come clean. “I did, uh, stuff with the captain last night and then I ran away and didn’t… say anything to him.” As expected, Momo’s eyes widened for a little bit and then one of his eyebrows went up and the other went down.

“Wait, didn’t you walk over here on your own?” He inquired for whatever reason.

“Yes?” I had a feeling something incredibly idiotic was about to happen.

“Then you probably didn’t sleep together, Nitori. Unless… well, I don’t think the captain would let that happen. If your hips aren’t sore, then you’re safe. Trust me.” Momo gave Sousuke an annoyed look for a second and I felt like I inferred slightly too much. Yikes.

“You were the one who wanted to do… that, so don’t get upset with me for not being able to walk afterwards. You were just lucky that your brother didn’t find you like that.” Sousuke shook his head back at Momo. Okay, I definitely understood too much that time.

Changing the subject, “Can I go into town with you, Sousuke? Please?”

He gave me a concerned look. “Nitori, you should really go talk to Rin before this blows itself out of proportion even more. It’s only going to stress the two of you out if you wait around.”

I didn’t want to beg, but there was no other way. “Please, Sousuke.” I pleaded. “I just need some time to think it out, please just let me go with you. I’ll go straight to talk to Rin when we get back, I promise.”

Sousuke sighed and I knew I had won, at least for the moment. “Fine, but if something happens, I’ll be right here to help you out.”

Momo stepped over. “Me too, Nitori! You can count on us for anything.” He winked.

“Okay, well let’s hurry into town. I don’t want Rin to get a chance to find me before I’m ready.” The three of us stood and headed up to the deck. I had a chance to consider what had unfolded. Rin and I hadn’t done anything, but I felt like just having the thought that it could was startling. Rin had done a lot for me, and I was more than eternally grateful, but did I feel like that?

I tried to shake it off as we walked down the pier and into the city. It was just as bustling this morning as it had been the previous afternoon. Chances were, a place like this never saw a break. It was booming and loud and just as exciting as I’d hoped a port city would be. Iwatobi had never been like this; it was just a small stop-gap between bigger cities. I felt my mood begin to pick up as we passed through the crowds, but that ended when I saw a flash of maroon hair.

My heart dropped in my chest and I slipped behind Sousuke, hoping that Rin wouldn’t see us. What I didn’t account for was that Rin shared his hair color with another very important individual. The girl with her hair pulled up tight onto her head shimmied through the people, catching my sight line. I went to meet her halfway and was nearly bowled over by a man twice my size. I didn’t say anything to him as he gave me a death glare.

“Gou, what are you doing out here?” I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. The shock of seeing that hair color had sent my heart into spasms.

“I need you to give this to my brother.” She held out a small brown envelope to me. “It’s important that you hurry too. My mother doesn’t know that I’ve taken it.”

I took the weight into my hand. It felt like it was metal or some other solid, heavy object. I didn’t open it. “What is it?” I asked instead.

“That isn’t important right now. Please, before you leave.” She furrowed her brows.

“I will, I need to speak to him anyways.” I replied.

“Did something happen between you two last night?” She asked, taking on a sly tone. “You know, he’s never brought anyone home before. Even our mother was surprised that he showed up with you. Are you two?” She didn’t bother to finish her sentence; it was obvious what she was getting at.

I wheezed a little and turned bright red. If that wasn’t an answer, I didn’t know what was. “No, not really. Nothing happened, and we haven’t even really talked at all.” I shrugged.

“Okay, I’ll tell you a secret then. My brother is a huge crybaby. If you give him that package and apologize, no matter what, he’ll forgive you. I give you my word.” She smiled. “Give him this for me too, while you’re at it. I wanted to give it to him myself in person, but I’m afraid mother would keel over if both her children ran off to be pirates.” She quickly stepped in and tossed her arms around me in a light hug. “Be good to each other.”

And like that, she was gone. I stood in the middle of the crowd, package in hand, message in mind, hug in tow. I told Sousuke that we needed to head back right away, so he grabbed one more thing and we hustled back to the ship. I needed to get to Rin immediately. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected block on deck.

Kisumi had shown up to collect his detergent. “You know, _Ai_ ,” he sickeningly emphasized my name. “I could use your help below deck today.” He came over and grabbed the healing bruises on my wrist and forced me to drop the package I’d been carrying. I yelped a little as we got close to the door. I manage to rend myself out of his grasp only to stumble back against the wall of the deck.

In one more instance, I felt a rush of air and the pressure of a ton of water, crushing me down. I couldn’t swim or breathe and I felt my pulse quickening and the burning in my lungs and then it was suddenly black and I was cold. My greatest fear was realized.

I was alone.


	7. Mouth to Mouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you don't gather, this chapter is from Rin's PoV instead of Nitori's. Don't be confused!

Rin:

Gods, my head had been pounding since Ai ran out of the room. If I hadn’t run over to the porthole and violently vomited out of it, I probably would’ve chased after him. What even happened? How do you end up half-naked in someone’s bed and then not remember anything? Whatever. I just needed to go back to sleep and things would surely clear themselves up later.

Or so I thought.

I had woken up from my nap and I was taking my own sweet time getting dressed. The crew knew by now not to bother me after a night of heavy drinking. I couldn’t help that hangovers made me so pissed off. Maybe everyone was just really annoying.

I didn’t really pay attention to what I was putting on, but when I heard a strangled shout outside the door, I dropped the shirt I was holding and ran out. Sousuke dove off the side of the ship and Momo tackled Kisumi and began to pummel him mercilessly. What on earth was going on? Momo was normally pretty easygoing, so what had Kisumi done to provoke him? And why was Sousuke diving off the ship?

The sun beat down uncomfortably hot on my back. Maybe I could’ve pulled Momo off Kisumi before he got all bloody and battered, but he probably deserved it. I grabbed Momo’s collar and ratcheted him back. “What the hell are you doing?”

Momo quickly twisted out of my grasp and looked down off the side where Sousuke had gone off. “That bastard pushed Nitori off into the sea!” Momo was really alarmed, but I wasn’t sure why. “He can’t swim, captain!”

Son of a bitch. I tossed myself against the rail. I scanned the dark water for Sousuke’s form, but he hadn’t surfaced yet. What was with this? It seemed like there had been nothing but trouble since Ai joined the crew, but my heart wouldn’t stop racing. I was just about to jump into the water myself when Sousuke’s head pierced the water with a small silver bob in tow.

I grabbed a rope off the deck and tossed it down to him. Sousuke made quick work of tying it around Ai’s waist and then Momo and I hurried to hoist him back onto the deck. Now came the serious part: was he breathing?

It was nerve-wracking, putting my ear down to his mouth. I tried not to waste too much time. Every moment was important, and when I realized that he wasn’t, I had to suppress the thrill of anxiety that shot through me. I pinched his nose shut and took a deep breath before smushing my mouth into his and breathing for him. Ai tasted like seawater and something sweet that he must’ve eaten earlier in the day.

I compressed his chest and then breathed for him, over and over, please god, don’t let him die. It was horrible, every moment that passed was another moment that he was likely to slip out of my grasp. His skin was cold and, despite his normally white pallor, he was even paler than usual. His normally pink lips and rosy cheeks were dull blue and cold. I would never be able to forgive myself if he drowned.

One last desperate fist slammed down on his chest and he shot forward and coughed a cup of water out of his lungs. The first thing that happened was that he started crying and shaking. It was completely understandable, and I felt like crying myself. It was quick and I couldn’t stop the few tears that slipped down my face. I wrapped an arm around Ai and pulled his soaked body towards me. What the hell would I have done if I’d let this guy die?

After crying it out like a baby, my head was pounding even more. Before this fiasco, I was just going to go around and make sure we had all the supplies before we left the port tomorrow. What if I just…

“Alright, Ai, how about you become my assistant from now on?” That wasn’t too forward, was it? “It’ll be a good way to keep you away from Kisumi and you can still work with Sei in the evenings if you want to.”

Ai pulled his head off my shoulder and scanned my eyes, like he was searching for some deeper meaning in them. He really was the type to look for a deeper meaning in literally everything. “I guess I can.” His face was beginning to regain its color, though that color was a bright red. Ai scanned around the deck and then slipped out of my lap to grab something.

I stood back up and made a face at how gross and wet I felt from coddling Ai. He took three quick steps past Kisumi, who was basically unconscious from being brutally beaten by Momo. After hesitating for a just an instance, he thrust a small brown package towards me.

“I’m sorry about what happened this morning. I’m pretty sure that nothing happened last night, but it was still rude of me to just run out on you like that.” He looked up at me through his long, heavy lashes. I took a deep breath and grasped the package. It was almost a familiar weight, like I’d held it in my hands a thousand times, but what could it have been?

“It’s alright, Ai. Considering the circumstances of, uh, what was happening, I won’t take it personally.” I began unwinding the twine that held the paper closed. “What even is this? You didn’t have to get me something to apologize with.” Peeling back the thick sheet, my heart stopped when I saw the glint of silver. “Where did you get this?” It was my father’s pocket-watch. It was one of the few of his possessions that we still had after his death.

“I saw your sister in the city earlier when I was with Sousuke and Momo. She asked me to give it to you, and this.” Man, this guy could blush, but I was taken aback a little when he closed the gap again and pressed his still wet body against mine in a tight hug. He was straightforward too.

Damn it, thinking about the trouble that Gou was going to go through with mom after this was making me tear up. I really missed her and mom, I just wanted her to be more accepting that I was chasing after dad’s dream.

“Thanks, Ai. I guess I owe you one now.” Favors were a big part of being a captain. If I owed him one, then I’d have to do my best to repay it before he could ask me for something ridiculous. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud squeal and then suddenly Momo was jumping on the two of us.

“Nitori! I’m so glad that you’re alright! I accidentally went a little far and kinda… pummeled Kisumi.” Momo’s orange gaze turned over to where Kisumi was starting to rouse a little bit.

“Better you than me, Momo.” Sousuke approached as well. “I would’ve broken that asshole’s nose.” He was making that stone cold face that was the reason why I got him for the crew. Sousuke seemed like this really threatening brute, but he was strangely soft-hearted. He could even put up with that annoying brat, Momo, so he had to be doing something right.

Ai pulled back off me and thrust his head down in a bow at Sousuke. “Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry that I don’t know how to swim. It wasn’t something we really had a chance to learn at the orphanage.”

Sousuke dropped his angry face, and chuckled a little. “Don’t worry about it, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Sousuke clapped Ai on the back. When had the three of them gotten so friendly? I was a little jealous of them, actually frustratingly so. Ai had to work closely with me now though, so I hoped that would resolve a little bit of the annoyance that I felt.

The annoyance I didn’t even know why I felt. Ai had only been a member for a short time, but I guess I just empathized with him as an orphan. Dad had died when I still young and our mom just wasn’t the same after that. It was one of the reasons that I left, really. Somewhere along the way, the ship and my crew became home. Perhaps all of these feelings were because I wanted Ai to be able to call us his family and this ship his home as well. As long as there was breath in my body, none of us would have to be alone.

In a way, I felt like he felt accepted. Momo and Sousuke had sure taken a shine to him. “Thanks still, Sousuke. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”

“Rin and I helped too! I beat down Kisumi for you and Rin gave you mouth to mouth!” Momo butted in. For some reason, Ai began to redden again. It wasn’t like that was our… first kiss or anything! I was just breathing for him! That’s what I wanted to be thinking, anyways.

“Then thanks to all of you. I really appreciate it, but can I go change clothes? I’m kind of chafing.” Ai definitely was playing off whatever embarrassment he felt. The three of us laughed at him, and I offered to give him some of my hand-me-downs.

“Just come with me and I’ll give you some more clothes. I know you don’t have very many possessions, but I’ll keep getting you stuff as we stop for supplies.” I was a little worried that he might decline considering the awkward circumstances of the morning, but he followed me back to my cabin quietly. Having my entire front be wet while I was walking was a little awkward, but thankfully we made it back before anything had the chance to rear its ugly head.

Ai stood awkwardly in the doorway as I rummaged through my clothes chest and tried to pull out something I hoped would fit him. He was also soaked to the core, so he’d likely need something to dry himself off with too. As far as size went, none of my clothes were the right size for him, so I just pulled out a button up shirt and told him to roll the sleeves up. Pants would have been an issue as well, but I gave him the belt I purchased recently and told him to keep it. There would be other belts, and Ai was important.

Wait, Ai was important? Why was he important? I was getting really tired of these intrusive thoughts. It wasn’t until he pulled his wet shirt off and that thrill of embarrassment shot through me that I started to realize what the problem was.

I might have had a small crush on the new crew member. That was ridiculous though. I’d never really cared for anyone in that way, no matter how much they pined after me like Kisumi. Romance just wasn’t something that happened for me, but seeing Ai in this state of undress was making me feel things.

I tossed him a towel and quickly turned away before he could see the face that I was making. “When you’re done getting dressed, you should go talk to Sei about dinner duties and tell him that you won’t be available during the mornings or afternoon anymore.” I’ll be keeping you all to myself from now on, I added silently. I needed to reign it back in. Chances were that Ai wouldn’t reciprocate my feelings anyways, he was just grateful for me letting him join the crew.

Man, I kept telling myself that, but it was only likely to get worse. Maybe once we spent some time together, he would end up being annoying like Momo and I could let the crush go. I sincerely hoped that would be the outcome.

I didn’t know what I would do otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [GAY INTENSIFIES]  
> Okay I've been promising this fic was going to get gay forever, but it's finally happening. Normally, I would just go for it, but let's just say that this is realistic relationship progression. lol


	8. The Wrong Wind

For the weeks following that, everything changed. I no longer went to the kitchen to help with cleaning or cooking and I hadn’t seen Kisumi for the better part of that time. Momo had basically beaten him half-conscious and it’d been ugly. The only moment I saw him, he flinched away from my presence and fled the room. His face looked awful.

I barely even remember what happened. I just recalled waking up in Rin’s arms and sobbing. It was all I could do in the moment, honestly. I’d never nearly died like that.

He’d told me to be his assistant. It involved taking a lot of inventory, checking on different crew members, and spending a lot of one on one time with the captain. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but Rin was much more of a serious guy when we were doing important tasks. He showed me how to do everything that needed to be done.

I even worked closely with Sousuke, and Momo by default. Sousuke tried to remain serious when it was necessary, but Momo always managed to get him to have fun with the chores. This resulted in a lot of half-finished cleaning and somewhat irritated crewmates. I tried to get as much done as I possibly could, but when Momo screamed in my ear, I couldn’t very well ignore him.

For this night’s meal, Rin had requested that I meet him in his quarters. The ship was docking tomorrow for a supply run and he wanted to go over the lists with me and make sure that everything was accounted for.

Running my eyes down the browned paper, I took it all in. “This looks like everything, Rin.”

“Are you sure? Damn it, we forgot the bread last time and these few weeks sucked.” He shook his head and grabbed the quill off the desk, making sure to underline bread a few times.

I laughed. “I don’t think we’d forget it after something like that. I had almost forgotten how awful not being able to eat bread was.” I stood from my perch near Rin and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“You said you were an orphan, right?” Rin asked, suddenly serious. “What was that like? You lived in an orphanage back in that town, right?”

I nodded. “It wasn’t bad, actually. That night I’d gone off to your ship was just a particularly rough one.”

It had been another long night on the streets, just like usual. Once I’d turned eighteen, just like those before me, the orphanage kicked me out onto the streets. It was understandable and I would’ve left anyway. There were many, much younger children that deserved what little resources that the few women had.

Living on the streets hadn’t really been that bad to me, though. There were a few nights where I had to steal bread to eat, but it was freedom and that was always good. Freedom to read all the books I could find during the day, find work cleaning a bar at night, then sleeping and eating whenever I could.

Street life did become a bit trying whenever I was found by others my age. They were all strong, privileged men of the sea. They had parents, ones that loved them and helped them go to school, get started on a ship, and live a meaningful life. I wasn’t the smallest, but I was by no means the largest and they had thick muscles roped tightly onto their bodies from hard work.

When they picked on me, it usually involved hitting, and that was only if I was lucky. I’d once gone to work with a black eye and busted lip and the barkeep’s wife refused to let me leave for a number of days. She was a really sweet woman, motherly, hair tied back like graying honey and the prettiest eyes that crinkled at the edges like the water meeting the sand. In a particularly low moment, I wondered if she would’ve adopted me into her family if I had been a boy still.

It just led to the painful realization that I was simply too old to be someone’s child. There was no hope to find family as lone man. I had taken care of the kids at the orphanage when the times required it and I had genuinely loved many of them. However, the only family I’d had either left me behind or forced me to leave.

I’d never really wondered who my parents were, but I always wanted to know what their interests were. I imagined that my mother was a strong navigator, following the twinkling stars where ever the winds would take her. My father was a proud captain, working for the navy and commanding dozens of ships. They left me here in this town so that they could return for me one day, when I was old enough for the high seas. All I had of my parents was just the name they left me with.

After I explained my story to Rin, he regarded me with a bit of a melancholic stare. “That sounds difficult. I’m sorry that your parents left you behind.”

I sighed, weighed down by the sudden turn the conversation had taken. “But I don’t regret anything. I wouldn’t have met you and Sou or Momo otherwise.”

Rin turned a bit pink and stood from his chair. “How do you feel about them?”

I thought on it for a moment. There was the obvious; Sousuke and Momo had been secretly together for who even knew how long. Despite that, they were like the best friends, and parents in the strangest way, that I’d never had.

“It’s like… family, I guess. I’ve never really had anyone before, but I think that’s what it means.” I smiled and felt a little blush creep into my face. Just saying the word ‘family’ without the ‘I don’t have a’ part was weird.

Rin grinned, showing off his teeth again. “That’s good.” His red eyes looked away, seeming to turn serious again. "Can I ask you something else?”

I nodded, wondering why he was giving the wall such a strange look. “What do you think of me?”

That was a loaded question. “You’re a good captain, and you’ve shown me kindness I can never repay.” Rin took another step over.

“How do you feel about me?” He leaned down and put his hand on the bed next to me, pressing our chests together a bit. All at once, his intentions became clear.

“I, uh, Rin, I—” I was cut off by a sharp boom and then the world went to hell.

Rin jolted forward on top of me, but was immediately up and out of the room. I followed him onto the deck. Off in the distance was a large navy ship, aiming their cannons directly at us and firing haphazardly. Only a few of them managed to make contact, but all of them shifted and shook the ship and the next thing I knew, I was face down on with Rin covering my body.

“We’ll talk later, Ai.” He hopped and tried to rally the men. “All hands on deck! We’re under fire from an enemy ship off the starboard bow!”

As many men that were able and willing had manned the cannons, but it was a little late at that point; the other ship had gotten close, too close.

“They’re going to ram us, everyone hit the fucking floor!” Sousuke shouted. I felt a strong pang of fear well up in my gut. What if something happened to them? Even Kisumi had climbed from the bowels of the ship to help with the attack. Was this what I'd signed on for?

When the other ship finally made contact, the rocking intensified and the unthinkable happened. Ropes began to materialize and then men were boarding. I shrank back against the exterior wall of the cabin to look nonthreatening. My job was not physical and I would likely never be cut out to fight.

As they began to engage with the foreign men, one broke off towards me. “Hurry up and get what we came for, lads!” He said, laying his purple eyes on me. He wore the uniform of a navy man, the kind that the boys at the docks might’ve worn. Momo took a quick step in front of me, sword raised.

“I’ve got this one, Nitori! Run!” His eyes locked onto the man and he lurched forward without a second thought. This man was obviously more trained than Momo was, and with a sudden shot to the gut, Momo crumpled to the deck.

I couldn’t stop the spring of tears as I threw myself down at him. “No, no, no, you can’t die, Momo!” The wound was absolutely gushing blood, more than I’d ever seen at once. “Why did you do this? What do you even want with us?”

The red of the man's his glasses slipped down. “Your captain.”

I glanced over to where Rin seemed to be fighting a man with black hair, blue eyes, wrapped in a garb that didn’t fit the scene. “Why?”

“He’s wanted for crimes against the country. He’ll be promptly executed when we escort him back to the port.” The man laughed, too casually. Despite how grievous his wound looked, it seemed like Momo was still alive for the moment.

“Ai,” his hand came up to meet my arm. “Get out of here before… they get you too.” I couldn’t even get up, how did he expect me to run?

“I can’t go without you, Momo! What about Sousuke?” His mate was off fighting and must not have seen Momo fall. The tears were strong and fast. I'd never even considered that something like this could happen. Pirate life was carefree and fun, not heartbreaking and painful!

The rapier came down a few inches before my throat. “Stand up.” I was met with a caustic stare. “Now.” The tip of the blade shallowly pierced above my collarbone, causing blood to mar the shiny blue shirt that Rin had purchased for me.

Slowly, I stood next Momo’s slackened body, trying not to look down to see the horror of my best friend's corpse. 

“Follow me. You’re more than enough to complete this misson.” The blade nicked the same spot and it took all I had to not falter to the deck. Slowly, my feet padded around him and over the board they’d tossed to bridge the two ships. A trickle of blood ran down my arm and drew a wavy line between the two ships.

“Pull back, men! We’ve retrieved all we need!” The navymen, in their gray and blue uniforms, parried for the last time and then rushed around me like a river.

“Hear me, Shark Captain! This boy is to be put to death tomorrow evening at the ports of the town of Iwatobi! If you wish him to be spared, you will trade your life for his.” The man roughly gripped my bloodied arm and pulled me away from the family I had so desperately wanted. Perhaps there was no point in having a family.

“Nitori, no!” Sousuke ran towards the bridge, only for it to be kicked off into the sea before him.

“Save Momo, he’s been injured. I don’t want him to die, Sousuke!” I screamed, prompting the rapier to return to my throat.

“Silence.” The man said. My heart ached when I heard Sousuke's voice rise again and scream Momo's name with unparalleled anguish.

“Rei,” an authoritative voice crowed. “That’s more than enough. We have fulfilled our mission. The boy isn’t to be harmed without purpose.” The sword went down and the ships parted.

“Ai, I’m coming for you! Just wait for me, I swear to the gods we’ll save you!” Rin shouted, voice clawing painfully at the winds that blew us apart.

“I believe you.” I whispered, turning to face the larger man that had stopped my assailant.

“Lock him up, but feed him. We are not barbarians on this ship. And take care of the assassin. Lock him away with the boy. We do not tolerate failures on this ship either.” The captain’s cool green eyes flickered with regret as he gave the last part of his order.

Rei pulled out iron cuffs and linked me together with the assassin. He was the man who was fighting Rin earlier. He had a blank face, emotionless and unflinching, even when he was cuffed.

The ship was different than ours. It wasn’t especially larger, but the layout of the rooms and the facilities were for different purposes. Down in the belly, there was a large room with barred walls so that escape would be impossible. This was where Rei locked us away, unchaining us as he left.

The first thing I did was fall to the floor in tears. Had Momo died? Was the first taste of family and friendship that my pitiful life had been given snatched away from me, like a gull stealing bread from a toddler?

“Pathetic.” Rei tsked, locking our prison and leaving us alone.

A shorter blonde returned a few minutes later and deposited some bread through the slot in the door. “On the captain’s orders.” He nodded and slipped back off where he’d come from. I didn’t touch it, giving the assassin a chance to do what he wished. He didn’t move either.

We sat there in uneasy silence as I tried to gather myself. If we were heading back to Iwatobi, it was likely that any acquaintance I had would be present for my demise. The women at the orphanage would be so disappointed.

“You should eat.” The man said, kicking the plate towards me. I regarded him silently.

“Why? So they can kill me tomorrow and throw me off for the sharks to pick at?” Why did he even help them? “It’s your fault I’m even here. You tried to kill my captain and my best friend is dead because of you!”

I stood up and charged the man, missing at the last moment and slamming into the wall. I didn't try to keep myself from landing on the floor. “Everyone I care about has been snatched away from me and I’m alone again! All… alone.”

The tears came back and I stayed where I’d fallen. “I’m sorry. I was just doing what I was paid to do, but I failed. Your captain is an excellent swordsman.” His expression hadn’t changed, but at least he’d apologized.

“But my friend…” I swallowed hard.

“He’s not dead. That wasn’t a kill shot, it was just enough to incapacitate him. The navymen don’t kill. They arrest and try them before they’re executed.”

“Are you sure?” My eyes welled up in relief when he nodded.

“We’ll escape when we dock. I’ll receive no payment and I don’t intend to stick around any longer than necessary.” He nodded towards the lock. “I’ve a pick in my sash and that lock is basic. Consider it reparation for my actions.”

I nodded and grabbed the bread from the floor, breaking it in half to hand to the man. “My name is Nitori.”

“Haru.” He replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took me two months to update and then I came back with this?
> 
> I'm done with finals and I promise it will not take me two more months to update. I hope you enjoyed the update (and it hurt you very much deep inside because I wanted it to be pain).


	9. Places Once Called Home

The anxiety-ridden night passed slowly. Haru had formulated an escape plan based on his knowledge of the ship. According to his information, we would reach port before dawn when the majority of the crew would likely still be asleep. Once we’d docked, Haru would pick the lock and we would run. I hoped the plan would be foolproof. There were too many things left unsaid between me and Momo and Sousuke and, most of all, Rin.

The cool-headed assassin had suggested that I sleep for a bit so that I would be alert and ready to run at the slightest hint of danger. I laid across the hard wood, painfully aware of how much worse this was than living on the streets. Rest had only come to me shallowly out of fear that my dreams would be haunted by bloodied dead friends and half-finished confessions.

Haru shook me awake. “Are you ready?”

I hastily wiped my eyes. “Yeah.” Leaning up on my arm, I winced and collapsed back onto the wood. The place where I’d been stabbed at was throbbing and even more painful than it had been before I’d slept. Pulling the collar of the blood-stained shirt down to look at it, the wound was a deep hole in my right shoulder. It was slightly red and swollen and looked a little gross.

“I’ll clean it for you once we’re free.” Haru offered. I released the blue silk and nodded, standing up to meet his gaze. Haru brought the hem of his black shirt up to his teeth and tore into it, sending two small metal pieces flying onto the floor. Snatching them up, he took a quick step over to the lock. Dressed darkly, Haru appeared as not much more than a black blot in the dim lighting. He hadn’t been kidding about the lock being basic. Within a minute, he’d already beaten it and the barred door swung open quietly.

“That was amazing.” I whispered to him, a bit envious of his ability. “How long did it take you to learn that?”

Haru shrugged in reply. “Not long.” He held a finger up to his lips.

“Could you teach me?” I asked, momentarily ignoring his command for silence. His body turned back in a flash, barely giving me any time to react before a knife came up to my throat.

“You’re slow. Reflexes need some work if you want me to teach you anything.” Haru pulled the blade back and stuck it away wherever he’d conjured it from. After a small moment of fear, I made a mental note to not mess with assassins again.

“Okay.” I swallowed, trying to get a grip before we began our escape.

Haru winced as we crept through the belly of the navy vessel. “We have to go through the barracks. Be as silent as you possibly can.” It would all be over if we were caught trying to escape, but we had to. I could, under no circumstances, allow Rin to sacrifice his life for mine, not after what he’d tried to tell me. I had to know what the next words out of his mouth were going to be.

In the back of my head, I knew exactly what Rin was thinking. I just couldn’t acknowledge it. I had been afraid of what might happen if he were to confess and _it_ had happened. Since that scare after the bar and when I had almost drowned, I’d noticed a remarkable change in his behavior, even more so than when we first met. Whenever Rin looked at me, his maroon gaze softened at the edges enough to let me know that our relationship was changing. If Momo had been there, he would’ve slapped me on the back and told me to get on with it already.

I prayed silently for Momo’s life because I didn’t know what I would do if he had passed. Would I have to pick up the pieces of Sousuke and hope that he could go on? I had no more time to consider the possibilities. Haru had stopped me in front of a door, gently pushing it open to avoid a creak.

There was a single lantern in the chamber, casting long shadows over the sleeping bodies. It was strange how similar their lives were to ours. I had always thought that being a navyman would be luxurious and powerful. I expected gold to be overflowing in giant beds for each man. Looks like I was wrong about more than just pirate life. Perhaps they kept the gold in another part of the ship?

There was a flicker at the corner of my vision and I ducked behind Haru. The blonde boy that had given us the bread the previous evening stood at the opposite side of the room, staring at us. A thin arm pointed towards the door and motioned for us to follow. I was very, very confused.

I tried not to cling to Haru as we quickly crossed the room and entered the hall below deck. “Why are you helping us?” I had to know.

“Captain’s orders.” He replied, winking. “You’ll figure it out, I’m sure, Ai.”

I furrowed my brows. “My name is Nitori. Who told you that?”

“Your captain has a big mouth!” The blonde laughed, putting his hand on his hip. My expression flattened when I realized what he meant. Rin had screamed my name into the wind as I was carted away.

“That’s enough, Nagisa. Nitori, we need to go.” Haru grabbed onto my good arm and began to pull me up the staircase to the deck.

“Thank you!” I whispered quietly. As soon as we were up the stairs, my breath hitched coldly in my throat. We really were back in Iwatobi. The water had the same smell as it always did: salt and rotten wood and the slightest hint of spices that the merchants ferried in for just one day at a time.

“Hurry.” Haru crossed the deck and tossed a board off the side and down onto the docks. I trailed after him, watching as he dragged the same board away from the ship and leaned it against the side of a nearby shop. We then headed towards the interior of the town but as the dirt path gave way to dusty cobble streets, my urge to proceed lessened. It was too soon to be back here. I’d only tasted what life had to give me and I was back at square one.

No. Not this time. I refused to be the pawn in anyone’s ridiculous scheming.

“Follow me.” I told him. “This is my hometown.” Haru gave me a hesitant look, but agreed nonetheless. These were the streets I was raised in and I knew a place that we could hide for the remainder of the day without being found.

We stuck to alleyways and roads less travelled as we made our way uptown, walking fast. It was important that we weren’t seen by anyone. It was likely that the only people heading to work this early would be the smithy and the police and I didn’t particularly care run into either of them. As we climbed the hill, the small apothecary came into view.

It was a shabby red brick building, black roof collapsing at the sides and a small steeple at the front. Attached to the back was a staircase that led into a cellar that was no longer used by the orphanage due dangerous rotting. I’d been down there a few times just for fun, but the kids had all been scared off by the nuns.

Haru held the large wooden door open for me and I ducked down into the room. The stairs were worse than before and nearly caved under my weight as I crossed them. The neglected hinges squealed like an unholy banshee as they closed, but it was likely to go unnoticed by anyone.

The inside smelled like dust and dirt and it filled my nostrils with a heavy must. There was a large wooden pillar in the middle to support the floor of the orphanage that looked like it had seen better days. Even the bricks that lined the walls seemed to have eroded a bit. I guess we were lucky that it hadn’t rained in a while.

“How did you know about this place?” Haru inquired, probably questioning the actual security of their hiding spot.

“I lived here until I turned eighteen. Orphan.” I replied, sliding down the wall onto the cool earth. I hadn’t noticed how warm I had been feeling until then.

He nodded. “I was also an orphan.” The dullest glint of blue met my vision as Haru knelt down beside me. “You’re sick.” A cold hand pulled down the side of my shirt and I couldn’t fight against him. My limbs felt like they were weighed down by the events of last day.

“I’m just a little warm is all.” I shucked off his hand. His stare turned disproving.

“Your shoulder is infected. You need a doctor, or at least some medicine.” His hand pulled back, leaving the cold spot where it touched to return to its inflamed temperature.

“We’ll get caught and turned in though.” I rebutted, slurring my words slightly. Haru stood and quickly mounted the stairs, swinging the door open and disappearing. “Bye.” I called after him, slowly losing consciousness. I just need a little nap to feel better, that was all.

When I opened my eyes next, my first thought was that I should be next to Momo. Instead, I turned my head to meet the sleeping face of the assassin in a chair next to me. It dawned on me that I was no longer in dank cellar, but sleeping in a familiar bed. At some point after passing out, I had been moved into the building.

The room was dim, only lit by the dull yellow light of a candle. The windows had broken many years before I was born and had been boarded up to reflect that. The inside was always cool as a result, but dark. I loved being able to sleep in that way.

As the blanket fell away from me, I realized that my shirt had been removed and my wound had also been tended to and was bandaged neatly by a hand that I could never forget. As my feet touched the worn wooden floor, Haru jolted up next to me.

“Stop.” His hands came down on either side of my head, barely missing the patched wound on my shoulder. “You need to sleep.”

“I can’t! Who knows what time it is?” My hand came up to clutch his elbow. “I have to save Rin!”

Haru sighed and sat back down. “It’s the early afternoon. Sister Miho is keeping an eye on the children while you sleep. She’s the one who tended your wounds and gave you this bed.”

My heart sank. Miho was the mother I’d never had, selflessly giving her life over to the convent as she was unable to birth her own children. “How… did she react?”

“She didn’t seem upset,” he replied. “Frantic.”

“You mean she was concerned, right?” I felt anxiety well up in my gut. I knew that she would react badly to my return.

“She cried the entire time she bandaged your shoulder.” Haru stretched out his arm and ran a hand through his black hair.

“I’m afraid to face her.” I confided. “I’ve not seen her since I was forced to leave.” Painful memories came back, memories of my own tears and indelible feeling of rejection.

“She wants to see you.” He shrugged. “She cleaned your shirt, so you’ll have to see her sooner or later.”

I slid onto the balls of my feet and stood before the assassin. “You owe me nothing, but will you come with me to see her? I’m afraid to go alone.”

His eyes rolled. “What a bother.” I lost all my morale, that is, until he stood. “Fine.”

A bit of a hopeful smile played at my lips as I led him to the front of the building. When the heavy door opened, the bright afternoon sun hit me right in the face. This was the only room of the building that still had actual windows. At one point, it had been a chapel that the people would visit each weekend to for worship. However, the pews had been converted into makeshift beds and benches for tutoring. It hadn’t been used for religious purposes as long as I’d been alive.

My eyes fell on the small brunette woman who sat before the children with a book that I’d read a million times. It was just an old tale about buried treasure, but it was probably what had inspired my zeal for both reading and pirate lore.

“The pirate, teeth sharpened like a shark’s, locked his bounty in a wooden chest made of the finest mahogany. A blinding silver shovel covered it with hot yellow sand, and then marked it with a bright red X so if he ever wished to return for the blood jewels, Redbeard would know exactly where to return.” Miho recited, setting the book down as she finished. “You may all go play now, but don’t go past the gates!”

I lowered my head as she rose from her chair and padded slowly towards us. “Ai, I’m so glad that you’re well. When this man showed up with you all bloody and unconscious, I couldn’t sit back and do nothing.”

“I’m sorry, Sister. I really didn’t mean for us to meet again like this.” I couldn’t look at her. “I honestly thought I would never come back to Iwatobi once I’d left.” It was a bit painful to admit. Some part of me regretted leaving, but there was also a part that didn’t look back. With any luck, Miho wouldn’t be too hurt.

“I should be the one to apologize, Ai. I never wanted to make you leave. The other sisters all fled shortly after you did.” She confessed. “They said that I was too soft and that I should have to look after these children alone. I looked for you everywhere, but the wife of the barmen said you’d disappeared.” I looked to Haru, who was paying no attention to the present situation.

“I ran off with a pirate crew and I’ve made the best friends I could ever ask for.” I told her, hoping that it would ease her worries a bit. It only made her worrisome expression grow, the fine lines in her face deepening into heavy wrinkles.

“Pirates?” She questioned. “Is that how you were injured?”

I reached up to clasp the bandaged wound. “No,” I whispered. “It was a navyman. He stabbed me last night when they took me for ransom. They wanted to exchange me for my captain. I have to go save him before they execute him.” The main entrance opened a bit and a small boy with pearly pink hair walked in, catching my eye.

“So you won’t stay then? I’d love to have you come back and help me watch the kids.” Miho reached her hand out and placed it on my forearm, distracting me.

“I can’t, Sister. As much as I love the kids, I have to… who is that?” My curiosity won out as the boy picked up the storybook and began flipping through the worn-out pages. He was so vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“That’s Hayato Shigino. He was dropped off here about a month ago by his parents who said they just needed a babysitter for the day.” She frowned. “They still haven’t come back for him. It’s quite a shame, he’s a sweet boy.”

“It couldn’t be,” I scoffed. “Did they say anything about an older brother?” Was that little boy really Kisumi’s kin?

Miho’s forehead creased. “I think he might have mentioned a brother before. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’ve met him.” I shook my head and slowly approached the boy who was sitting in the chair that Miho had previously occupied. His features were a slightly rounded out version of Kisumi’s own, and they shared the same amethyst eyes.

“Hi,” I leaned down. “What do you have there?” I smiled a little, hoping to put him at ease.

“A book.” He looked up blinking his big eyes at me.

“What’s it about?” I briefly inquired. Hayato held the pages out for me, poking his finger into the page.

“Pirates!” He cried. “My big brother is a pirate! Yarggh!” He went into a bit of titters, but it quickly ended. Before I could even do a thing, big beaded tears started streaming down his face. “I-I miss my big brother.” The book fell to the floor. I’d forgotten how quickly children could switch from laughing to crying.

“Hayato, is your brother named Kisumi?” I put my hand on his knee, hoping to calm him down a bit. As soon as the word parsed my lips, Hayato went silent.

“Do you know my big brother?” Purple eyes stared at me wide in disbelief. I nodded.

“I do, as a matter of fact,” I stood back up and struck a dorky pose. “I’m on the same pirate crew as he is. They’ll be in town today.”

Hayato jumped out of the chair faster than I’d ever seen any child move and grabbed my leg. “Will you take me with you? I want to go see my brother again!” The tears came back.

“If it’s okay with Haru.” I looked back at the nonchalant man. “Well?”

“Whatever.” He shrugged. “He’s your responsibility to keep safe.”

Hayato immediately began jumping for joy. “I’m going to see Kisumi again! I’m so excited!”

Miho simply smiled. “Now don’t mention it to the other kids, Yato. We don’t want to upset anyone, right?” The woman bent down to pick up the book that had carelessly been discarded. “Why don’t you take this book with you? I know it was your favorite and I’ve read it to the kids about a hundred times.”

She held the weathered pages that had long since lost their cover towards me. I’d never really considered it until now, but something about Redbeard piqued my interest.

Who else did I know that had shark teeth? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM THIS STORY HAS A PLOT NOW
> 
> Yeah, I'm not really sure what to say for myself. Like, this story was just sort of me playing around with the idea of pirate fic, but now that I've gotten past the preliminary stuff, things are actually moving pretty successfully. This chapter poured out of me once I started writing. I hope you enjoy the silly HaruTori interactions in it! <3


	10. Reunions

The night was cold as we left the orphanage. Miho gave me a hug and made me promise to be safe, no matter where I went. It was a less teary than our previous goodbye had been. I told her that I would come back one day, when the dust from what would happen tonight had settled. This was the night that I made my name as a pirate.

“Are you sure we should bring the brat along?” Haru asked, keeping a close eye on the boy despite how uncaring he seemed. Hayato had toddled along behind us, eager to see his brother again.

“We have to. As much of a p-r-i-c-k Kisumi can be, he’s all the family that Hayato has left.” I told Haru, spelling it out so that Hayato wouldn’t hear me badmouthing his brother.

“What about your captain?” Haru knew exactly how to stir him up already. He must’ve thought I was a joke.

“I want you to come with us.” I stopped in the alley we’d crouched in. “You’re amazingly cool and a capable fighter and I think you could teach me a lot. If Rin doesn’t want to let you, I’ll make him.”

Haru regarded him quietly. “If you keep your word, then you have to let another come with.” He paused. “My captain.” He wasn’t talking about the captain of that navy ship, the man with the green eyes and pleasant smile, was he?

“Why?” I asked, still trying to work out the possibilities.

“He is my partner. We planned to desert after this stop, but your ship was sighted and the tactician forced our hand.” Haru elaborated. “If your captain does not offer us both amnesty, we will not follow.”

I was steadfast. Haru was an assassin and had a strong set of skills that I wanted to learn. Rin would have to agree to let them come with us. “It’s a deal.” I stuck my hand out towards him as a few men ran by.

“Hurry up, blokes. That redhead scourge is about to get his ‘ead lopped off!” One of the men shouted, sending my heart into spasms. I hoped that we would arrive soon enough to keep Rin from giving himself up, but it seemed we had dawdled with Miho for too long. I looked to Haru and we quickly continued our crawl towards the town square. The navy would want to make a big display out of punishing pirates. It had discouraged others from running off to join up, but I never bought any of it.

The square was a full din of people as far as I could see, like every man and a few women had gathered to watch the event. The navy had Rin fully flanked as he was restrained in the stocks. His head hung limply, trapped in the wooden device with his hands. I wanted to call out to him, but I couldn’t give away our position. How would they kill him? Would he be shot by a platoon of soldiers or would they have him hanged? Either one would be awful.

“Haru, we’ve got to do something.” I turned back frantically. “They can’t kill him.”

“Agreed. Take this.” He reached under his cloak and pulled out something that I was surprised to see.

“A gun? Where did you get this?” I took the metal weight in my hands. I’d, of course, read about gunfights many times, but I’d never even seen a gun before.

“It’s a secret. Do you know how to fire it?” He asked, showing me how to pull back the pin. “Aim at one of the navyman and pull the trigger. It will kick back, don’t get hurt. And don’t hit Makoto or I will not hesitate to kill you.” Haru’s eyes grew colder as he pulled a dagger out of one of the many hidden pockets on his person. I couldn’t help but think he was astounding.

“Hayato, you’ll need to stay here and hide for a little while. If someone comes after you, run all the way back to Miho and I’ll find you.” I crouched down beside him. His purple eyes were turned down in fear.

“What about Kisumi?” He asked, clutching the front of his shirt.

“I will get you back to him, I promise.” I looked back out into the crowd.

“Nitori, this will turn into a maelstrom the moment you fire that gun. Are you sure you’re ready?” Haru asked, removing his cloak and placing it onto Hayato. “There is a blade in the front right pocket, boy. Only use it if you absolutely have to. Stay safe.”

“Yes.” I said shakily. I brought the crosshairs up and pointed them at the purple-headed tactician. He was the one that was to blame for all of this, and while I didn’t want to kill him, I wanted to at least make him pay for what he’d done to Momo.

I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, nearly hitting myself in the face with the recoil. “One shot left, take it and run.” Haru shouted, slipping out into the crowd. As soon as the man went down, the people ran screaming in all directions. Thankfully, no one had seen the direction the shot came from.

I glanced back at Hayato once more and hustled out into the bustling stream of people, holding the gun underneath my shirt so no one would point me out. It was hard to navigate through the crowd, like bilge rats attempting to flee in every direction. In the chaos, Rin had been abandoned by the guards. If there was ever a moment that I was going to get to save him, this would have to be it.

I approached him as quickly as I could, keeping an eye out for any white flash of a navy uniform. “Rin, are you okay?” I swooped in and pulled at the lock. If only Haru were over here! The assassin had disappeared into the crowd and there was no way I’d be able to find him in all of the chaos.

“Ai, behind you!” I jumped forward as quickly as I could, feeling the searing sensation of a blade shear across my back. The pain knocked the wind out of me, and it was all I could do to turn and hold the gun up. The soldier before me was not one I’d seen before and was quickly followed by a few others, aiming their blades towards me.

“Get out of here before they kill you, Ai!” Rin struggled through his wooden prison. The trickle of hot blood all down my back was exactly the reason why I couldn’t run.

“No! I’m not leaving you behind! I’ve come too far to lose it all now! Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot!” I aimed the gun between the few soldiers, keeping them at bay.

“Don’t be stupid, did you really think that I gave myself over without a backup plan?” Rin scoffed. “Any minute now Sousuke will be here to tear these men down and save us.”

I took a bit of relief in that, but until they showed up, I had to hope that I would be able to hold my ground. The soldiers looked between us warily, waiting to see how I would react.

“They’re bluffing, kill the boy.” One held his sword up towards me and the others closed in from each side. I hated to do it, but I aimed the gun at the nearest one and had very nearly pulled the triggered when Haru appeared from nowhere. In three swift motions, he’d disarmed the soldiers. They screamed at the sudden assault and fled. I couldn’t help but think about how the navymen that I’d idolized were nothing more than cowards.

“Makoto is on the move, we’ve got little time.” Haru pulled the gun from my twisted fingers and used the last bullet to shoot the lock off. “Grab the boy and let’s get out of here.”

Rin pushed the wooden bar off, visibly confused. “What the hell are you doing here? I should kill you where you stand.” Rin took an aggressive step towards Haru who didn’t react. Haru likely had dozens of weapons stashed on his person and Rin wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Rin stop.” I slipped in between them. “We don’t have time for this right now. All you need to know is that Haru is the reason that we’re both alive right now and he and his captain are coming with us.”

“Makoto is waiting for us at the pier. We have to hurry.” Haru chided us again. No more guards had approached us after the other three had fled.

“Ai, you’re hurt.” Rin grabbed my shoulders, causing me to wince even harder.

“I am, more than you know, but we have to get out of here before we can do anything about it.” I explained, shirking his arms off of me. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

Rin’s hand came up to hold my chin. “Likewise.” Haru coughed loudly, snapping us out of any hope at a joyous reunion.

“Hayato,” I slapped my forehead. “We have to go for the boy.” I grabbed Rin’s hand and pulled him through the thinning crowd towards the alley where the boy was crouched. He looked like nothing more than a large, black mass with Haru’s cloak on. “Yato, we’re going now!”

I flipped the hood up and looked at his teary eyes. “I’m scared, Aiai.” My expression softened in reply. I would’ve hugged him if not for my still bleeding back.

“Aiai?” Rin questioned, not getting it. “Who’s this kid?” He wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Kisumi’s brother, Hayato. He’s coming with us too.” I replied.

“Tick-tock.” Haru shook his leg impatiently, glancing back towards the crowd.

“I’ll explain later.” I stood and ran to Haru’s side. “Let’s go.”

“Wait a damn second, Ai. You can’t just let three more people join our crew, and a fucking kid!” Rin grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. I twisted out his grasp and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Do you love me?” I demanded. Rin was very close to saying something of the sort the previous day. Rin was immediately taken aback.

“Love? I mean, I, uh, Ai, look, I think I might like you, but…” He stammered, bringing his hand up to the back of his head.

“Then trust me.” I grabbed his other hand. “We’ve got to go.” I tugged him along after me, letting Haru lead us through the nearly empty square. Even the guards had fled, hoping to avoid a conflict with an entire pirate crew. Or something else had happened. Where even was the crew?

When I saw the ship, I couldn’t help the mournful pang in my chest. The hull and sides of the vessel were covered with splintered and dented boards. The cannon fire had really taken its toll. I could only hope that no one had been seriously injured or killed. That would take a serious damper in the affairs of the ship for a long while.

“Makoto, where are you?” Haru called, eyes scouring the area for some sign of the man. The large brunette rose from his hiding spot behind a crate. It was a bit reminiscent of how I’d gotten here as well.

“Haru, you’re alright!” Immediately, the two men embraced. Haru’s hand came up to Makoto’s face and the two kissed passionately before us.

“Alright, take it down a notch you two. We’ve got the rest of the crew back here any second.” Rin rolled his eyes, clearly over their little reunion. I thought it was kind of touching. I’d read many romantic stories, albeit between a man and woman, but realistically, it seemed that was not the norm. There really weren’t that many women on the high seas in real life, for whatever reason. It wasn’t even as if women were inherently worse than men, society was just stupid sometimes.

“What do you mean? They’re not here already?” I asked, realizing that there was, indeed, a distinct lack of people on our ship. Rin laughed a little.

“I did say they were here for backup, Ai. Let’s just say,” he laughed again. “We’ll have more than enough gold to get the ship back in working order.”

“You didn’t.” Makoto stepped forward. “You told your crew to raid our ship while they were guarding you. You knew that the boy would save you.”

“Your coffers are as good as clear. Not even a moth will be left behind.” Rin smirked, pointing towards a small crowd quickly approaching. “Speak of the devil.” Rin ushered us aboard the ship quickly, taking Hayato and leading him to the door of the cabin. “Go inside and wait for us. Your brother will be here in a bit.”

Now that the child was safe, I could tell Rin felt more like he was able to get riled up. The crew members slowly filtered aboard, clutching huge sacks that looked like they weighed more than I did. “Is that all gold?” I was in disbelief.

“Yes, it is.” A cool voice laughed, dropping the bag before me.

“S-Sousuke?” My voice was barely a whisper. I had been so distracted that I’d forgotten about him and Momo. In one quick step, I had my arms around his waist.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Nitori.” He laughed and brought his arms up too, flinching when they touched the wet blood. “Or not? What the hell happened to you out there?”

“I got stabbed a couple times, but no big deal, right?” I tried to laugh, keeping my eyes trained on his. I was suddenly exhausted, feeling the relief of a successful venture rush over me. “Is Momo okay? Please tell me he’s alive.”

“He’s alive, a little pissed, but alive.” Sousuke patted me. “He’s below deck on bedrest, where you should be too, but some things have happened that you need to know about. We—”

“Later, Sou. We’ve got to get this ship out of here before the navy catches on. Gotta put some distance between us and them.” Rin cut him off, clapping him on the arm. “You,” he grabbed my arm. “Go reunite the brothers and don’t lollygag. When your back is patched up, we have to talk.”

I nodded, searching for the crop of pink hair amongst the crowd. Kisumi was towards the back of the crew and eyed me nervously as I approached. “What do you want? Have you come to shove me off in revenge?” He scoffed, but there was legitimate fear in his voice.

“Come with me.” I turned tail and walked off towards the cabin as the men around us slammed into gear. The ship was already moving before I’d even reached the door. “Go ahead.” I told him, catching his hesitant gaze as he walked past me. Before we reached Rin’s chamber, his pace slowed.

“Ai,” he paused. “Nitori, I need to apologize.” His jaw tightened as he spoke. “I shouldn’t have done what I did. It was stupid of me and if I’d realized that you couldn’t swim, I never would’ve done it. I didn’t stand a chance with the shark anyway. No one on this ship will ever love me.” I was taken aback by the unexpected, earnest apology.

“I accept your apology, and politely disagree. There’s already someone on this ship who loves you.” I smiled a bit, knowing what was in store.

Kisumi frowned. “Look, I’m flattered, but you’re not really my type.”

I blinked at him for a moment, processing what he’d said. “That’s not what I… just follow me.” I rolled my eyes. Kisumi had apologized, but he’d still be a bit of a sarcastic ass. I should’ve just expected it.

“Why am I…” he trailed off, seeing the little boy crouched on top of Rin’s bed. “Is that you, Hayato?”

“Kisumi!” He shot off the bed and in an instant, the two were reunited. “I missed you so much!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes, but Kisumi was actually crying. “Hayato, what on earth are you doing here? Where are mom and dad?”

“They left him at the orphanage I’m from.” I replied, not wanting Hayato to have to verbalize his misfortune. “You two look alike and I couldn’t leave him behind when you were right here. You’re family.”

“Thank you, Ai.” He wiped his eyes, which were overflowing with happiness.

“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you two alone, I’ve got family of my own to check on.” I replied, stepping back to the door.

“But I thought you were an orphan?” Kisumi called. I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my own features.

“I was,” I told him. “But my family is waiting for me in a room downstairs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Makoharu is joining the crew! Also Momo is alive lmao. Like I could ever kill off that dumb egg.
> 
> Anyhoo, the next chapter will be sort of heavy in the beginning probably. Ai has to go meet with Momo and find out what Sousuke needed to tell him, get patched up, and then go have his talk with Rin. Fingers crossed that it goes well.


End file.
